This is the third meeting between the two sides this season, and the second game on The Veneto Club floor in as many weeks. Having just ticked over the halfway mark of the season the Boomers are well placed at the top of the table, leading the league with a record of 10-1, while the Perth Lynx have struggled to a mirror image 1-10 record on the year.
In what was a great test for the Boomers against a quality opponent in Round 9, the then second placed Townsville Fire came to town and were promptly sent packing with a resounding 88-70 defeat in front of a raucous Bulleen crowd.
The Boomers continued making strides towards the ultimate goal in what was a physical encounter, led on the scoreboard by Liz Cambage with 24 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and the outstanding contributions of Elyse Penaluna and Sharin Milner.
Boomers forward Hanna Zavecz told Brett Phillips of SEN Radio that despite their lofty position on the ladder, the championship race is still wide open.
“We are all very level headed. We don’t by any mean think we are the best team.” she said.
“At the moment we’ve got a lot of improvement to go until we feel we can be a real contender for the title.”
The signs are definitely not all bad for the young Perth Lynx side, with the appointment of new Head Coach Vlad Alava, the Lynx have put together some promising efforts, falling just short of causing the upset of the season last round.
The Lynx came within three points of knocking off finals contender the Bendigo Spirit last round, falling 61-58, after fighting back to draw level at 58 points apiece with 17 seconds remaining, before having their heart broken by a Spirit three point basket.
Bulleen are looking for a season sweep against the Lynx today, having defeated them in Perth, 103-69 in Round 5, and most recently at home, 92-58 in Round 8. On each occasion the Lynx have been led by the play of Captain Melissa Marsh and American import Takia Starks who, along with Kate Malpass, will be the opposition to watch out for on Sunday.
Once again the home crowd support will be all important, as Hanna Zavecz told SEN this week,
“The crowd support has been great… it just creates a lot of atmosphere that we can draw a lot of energy off of.”
The Veneto Club was rocking last week, so let’s make some noise and cheer on our Boomers to another victory!
By Ryan Mobilia