Boomers Take Down Lightning In A Thriller

The Deakin Melbourne Boomers have claimed top spot on the Chemist Warehouse WNBL ladder after defeating the Adelaide Lightning in an intense five-point comeback at home.

Looking for redemption after an unexpected loss at the hands of the Sydney Flames a week prior, the Boomers were ready to take on the in-form Lightning, who came in on a 5-game winning streak.

After a quick 0-4 run by the Lightning off the tip, Steph Talbot was able to open the account with a nice post fadeaway in transition.

Following this was WNBL Player of the Month Lindsay Allen with the smooth finger roll to tie things up. The Boomers defence kept the margin at 6pts as time was called with just over three minutes left to play in the first quarter.

Following the timeout, Ezi Magbegor ignited the crowd with a huge basket. With a minute left, Monique Conti drilled a trey to bring the Boomers back within 3pts, but a triple in response from the Lightning saw them take the 13-19 lead into quarter time.  

Min the second term, Kalani Purcell got the Boomers on the board with a long bomb, but Adelaide were able to respond yet again.

Despite the offensive struggles, Talbot was able to steady the ship with a jumper and a pair of free throws. Allen backed this up with a tough pull jump shot to swing the momentum and bring the Boomers within 4pts with four minutes left in the quarter.

Following a timeout, two big offensive rebounds from Sarah Boothe ended in a Jaz Shelley triple to bring the deficit back to 6pts. Keeping up with the Lightning the rest of the quarter, the Boomers were able to grind their way to a 32-37 deficit at half time.

Adelaide started the second half strong taking the 10pt lead, but Cayla George was able to stop the flow with a triple off a Purcell offensive rebound.

To cut the lead back down to 6pts Allen created something out of nothing with a strong drive and soft one-handed finish three minutes into the third quarter.

Despite this effort, Adelaide were able to power to a 12pt lead when a Boomers timeout stopped the clock halfway through the period. Talbot was able to stop the bleeding with another basket followed up by Magbegor going coast to coast for a strong finish.

Allen joined in burying a trey then converting a circus layup to bring the scores back to 50-56 with a minute to play.

The energy levels went sky high when Boothe scored a hoop to cut the deficit to 4pts. After a dominant showing for most of the quarter by Adelaide, the Boomers late quarter run saw the scores sitting at 53-59 going into the final break.

Garrick wasted no time hitting a triple on the first possession of the final term to make it a 1pt ball game, however Adelaide continued to respond. Unbelievably, it was Garrick again with another trey to tie the game up half way through the term.

Talbot put in the layup to give the Boomers the lead as the game began to intensify. The defence held strong forcing a Lightning miss before George took advantage hitting two free throws to give the Boomers the 1pt lead with 35 seconds left on the clock.

A travel forced by Purcell gave the ball back to the Boomers as they still held on by a point with only 22 seconds remaining. A stop by the Boomers resulting in an unsportsmanlike foul on the Lightning all but ended the game with the Boomers walking away with the 83-78 win.

Boomers star Cayla George was integral in the result for the Boomers, putting up a huge performance to finish with 18pts, 10rebs and 2blks. Lindsay Allen led with 5asts, while Maddie Garrick brought the defence chipping in with 2stls along with some very timely treys.

More than 2,300 loud and passionate fans witnessed the huge AVJennings Volunteers Day victory that ended the Lightning’s five-game winning streak.

The Boomers now look ahead to their Christmas Derby next Sunday (December 23) at 3pm against the Dandenong Rangers.

Tickets are available HERE.