12 November 2007 By Graham Croker
A dominant final quarter in front of a boisterous home crowd saw the ACUVUE Sydney University Flames defeat Adelaide Lightning 105-88 in their Women’s National Basketball League encounter at the Sydney University Sports and Aquatic Centre on Friday night.
With Alicia Poto and Natalie Porter each posting 30 points, the Flames gained some revenge over the Lightning, who defeated them 89-84 in Adelaide the previous Sunday.
The win also saw the Flames (7-2 for the season) regain the WNBL lead over Canberra Capitals (5-2), with Adelaide (5-3) and Bulleen (4-3) making up a dominant top four.
Porter, the MVP candidate, also contributed 11 boards and five assists. She leads the WNBL scoring, averaging 23.8 points per game, is 7th in rebounds (8.4 per game) and 3rd with assists (4.3 per game).
Poto’s 30-point tally included 5-of-7 from three-point territory, along with five assists. They were well assisted by Michelle Musselwhite and Kristen Veal, who each contributed 16 points.
The visitors dominated the first quarter 33-28 and set up a handy half-time lead with a 24-20 second quarter. The Flames edged ahead after winning the third quarter 30-22 and ran away with proceedings with a 27-9 final term as the Lightning’s defence and rebounding faded.
"We go back to the training track and work harder," Adelaide coach Vicki Valk said. “Friday night's game was fantastic, a really good game of basketball. We shot at 80 per cent in the first quarter." But that figure dropped as the game wore on.
Adelaide Lightning’s road trip didn’t get any better on Saturday night when they lost 90-73 to Dandenong Rangers.
Meanwhile, the Flames will meet Townsville Fire at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Friday night in a double-header with the Sydney Kings, who will be up against the West Sydney Razorbacks. Tip-off for the Flames v Fire game is 5.30pm, with the Kings v Razorbacks taking the court at 7.30pm.
