Writing and photographs by Dean Andrews

With 77 of the 84 games in the 2024/25 Cygnett WNBL regular season having been completed three clubs have secured a finals berth, Bendigo Spirit, Perth Lynx and Townsville Fire. Bendigo have dominated the regular season to have 18 wins and two losses and will finish on top of the ladder, at least two wins clear of their nearest rival. At 8 February Perth Lynx are in second place with 15 wins and five losses, one win ahead of third placed Townsville Fire (14 wins and 5 losses). Perth and Townsville will fill second and third place on the ladder however the finishing order is still to be determined. The season series between Perth and Townsville is tied at one game all with one game remaining. The team that wins the final game of the regular season when Townsville host Perth Lynx at Townsville Entertainment Centre on Sunday 16 February will win the season series between the two clubs. The winner of this game will lock in second place and with it home court advantage for the semi final series between second and third on the ladder. 2024/25 will be the third consecutive season that Perth and Townsville meet in the WNBL semi finals with Townville having a victory in 2022/23 and Perth winning the series in 2023/24.

Bendigo Spirit and Townsville Fire in team huddles during Bendigo’s home game at Red Energy Arena on 14 December 2024

Throughout the 2024/25 season there has been considerable movement among the teams from fourth to eighth place on the ladder. Halfway through the four games of the penultimate round of the season, Round 15, the last finals berth, fourth place is still to be determined. With seven games remaining in the regular season three teams are in contention to finish in fourth place – Sydney Flames, UC Capitals and Adelaide Lightning. The most important game in the battle for fourth place is on Sunday 9 February with fourth placed Sydney Flames (currently 7 wins and 11 losses) playing a road game against the fifth placed UC Capitals (currently 7 wins and 12 losses) at AIS Arena. Ten days earlier a game between the two clubs at the same venue was a thriller with Sydney having a 92-88 victory in overtime against the Caps. The winner of tomorrow’s game between the UC Capitals and Sydney will record their eighth win of the season and will have an opportunity to add to this tally in the final round of the season, Round 16. Adelaide Lightning are in sixth position with six wins and 13 losses and have a slim chance of making the finals. In their last two games of the season Adelaide Lightning play the two teams below them on the ladder – Geelong United (six wins and 14 losses) and Southside Flyers (four wins and 15 losses). It is possible for Adelaide to make the finals if they win both their games and other results for fellow finals contenders, Sydney Flames and UC Capitals go the Lightning’s way. Geelong and Southside have been eliminated from finals contention.

2024/25 will be the second time in WNBL history that a team with a winning ratio below 50% finishes in a top four position on the ladder at the end of a WNBL regular season. The previous time was West Adelaide finishing third with six wins, seven losses and a winning ratio of 46.2% in the league’s inaugural 1981 season to progress to the finals. The maximum wins that a team can finish in fourth place with for 2024/25 is 10, with the Sydney Flames able to reach this mark if they win their last three games of the season. A 10 win, 11 loss season would result in a winning ratio of 47.7%. Sydney or the UC Capitals finishing fourth in 2024/25 with nine wins and 12 losses would result in a winning ratio of 42.9%, which would be the lowest mark a team finishing in a top 4 position on the WNBL ladder has recorded in league history.

From 2016/17 onwards eight teams have competed in the WNBL and the top four teams at the end of the regular season have contested the finals. During the eight seasons from 2016/17 to 2023/24 the biggest gap from first to fourth place at the end of the regular season was five wins in 2019/20. The UC Capitals won the minor premiership with 17 wins and four losses to have a winning ratio of 81.0%. Adelaide finished fourth with 12 wins, nine losses and a winning ratio of 57.1%. The advantage 2024/25 minor premiers Bendigo Spirit have over the fourth placed team in 2024/25 will be at least eight wins, easily surpassing the five game gap in 2019/20. Over eight seasons from 2016/17 to 2023/24 the largest gap between third and fourth place at the end of the regular season was three wins in 2019/20 with the third placed Melbourne Boomers having 15 wins and six losses and the fourth placed Adelaide Lightning having 12 wins and nine losses. The gap between third placed Townsville (14 wins) and fourth placed Sydney (7 wins) in 2024/25 is currently seven wins.

Details are provided below on:

• How the WNBL ladder is determined.

• The results that are required for the teams in contention for fourth to make the finals.

• The seasons of the teams that have secured a finals berth or are in finals contention.

How are ladder positions determined in the WNBL?

Page 21 of the Cygnett WNBL 2024/2025 Media Guide states “The positions on the ladder during the regular season shall be determined by win/loss percentage. Should two or more teams be tied with the same win/loss percentage during the regular season they shall be ranked by Head to Head results between the tied teams.

If 2 or more teams have the same win-loss record of all games at the end of the season, the game(s) between these 2 or more teams shall decide the final placings. If these 2 or more teams have the same win-loss record of the games between them, further criteria shall be applied in the following order:

• Higher game points difference of the games between them

• Higher number of game points scored in the games between them

• Higher game points difference of all games during the season

• Higher number of game points scored in all games in the group.

If at any level of this criteria one or more teams ladder position is determined as a result of the above criteria, the procedure shall be repeated from the beginning for all remaining teams not classified yet until all ladder positions are determined.”1

WNBL ladder at 8 February 2025

If the top four teams finish in the same order at the end of the regular season that they are shown in the ladder above the semi final match-ups would be:

Bendigo Spirit (1st) vs Sydney Flames (4th)
Perth Lynx (2nd) vs Townsville Fire (3rd)

Bendigo have secured first place and will have home court advantage in the best of three game series against the fourth placed team. Sydney are currently in fourth place and are the most likely team to secure the last finals berth but could be displaced by either UC Capitals or Adelaide. For the third season in a row the two most geographically isolated teams in the WNBL, Perth and Townsville will play each other in a best of three game semi final series however the 2024/25 finishing order is still to be determined.

The top four teams on the ladder at the end of the 16 round 2024/25 Cygnett WNBL regular season qualify for the finals with the two semi final series and the Grand Final series each being a best of three game series. Six days after the regular season concludes on Sunday February 16 the semi finals commence on Saturday February 22 with the team that finished first on the ladder hosting game 1 against fourth place. The following day, Sunday February 23 the second placed team hosts third place in game 1 of a semi final series. Game 1 of both semi final series will be broadcast on all three channels, ESPN, 9Go! and 9Now. Game 2 and game 3 (if required) of the semi finals will be broadcast by ESPN.

Game 1 of the Grand Final will be held on Wednesday March 5 with the highest ranked semi final winner hosting the lowest ranked semi final winner in a game broadcast by ESPN. The lowest ranked semi final winner will host the highest ranked semi final winner in game 2 on Sunday March 9 with ESPN, 9Go! and 9Now all broadcasting the game. If the Grand Final is tied at one game apiece the highest ranked semi final winner will host game 3 on Wednesday March 12 with ESPN broadcasting the game.

Which clubs have secured a 2024/25 WNBL finals berth? Can the finishing order for any of these clubs change?

Three clubs, Bendigo Spirit, Perth Lynx and Townsville Fire quickly established themselves as the top trio of teams in 2024/25 and maintained that status to lock in a finals berth with multiple rounds remaining in the 2024/25 regular season. At 8 February Bendigo, Perth and Townsville each have a winning ratio above 70% which highlights the outstanding level of performance that these three clubs have delivered throughout the season. Bendigo are on an equal season-high nine game winning streak and have won the minor premiership with a record of 18 wins and two losses. Perth and Townsville will fill the second and third positions on the ladder with the order still to be determined.

Bendigo Spirit in a team huddle after their road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

Perth Lynx are second on the ladder with 15 wins and five losses just ahead of Townsville in third place with 14 wins and five losses. In the final game of the regular season Townsville Fire host Perth Lynx at Townsville Entertainment Centre on Sunday 16 February. It will be the third encounter between the Fire and Lynx in 2024/25 and with the series level at one game all the winner of the third game in the series will win the season series between the two clubs. This road game is Perth’s last game of the regular season. Townsville have two games remaining, playing a road game against Sydney Flames on Wednesday night February 12. If Townsville lose to Sydney they will have the opportunity to bridge the one game gap to Perth in the final game of the regular season. If Townsville lose to Sydney and defeat Perth the Fire and Lynx would have the same win-loss record of 15 wins and six losses. Townsville would win the tie-breaker in the head to head series against Perth and would finish second on the ladder, ahead of Perth in third place. Regardless of the result in Townsville’s Round 16 road game against Sydney the winner of the game between Townsville and Perth to conclude the regular season on 16 February will finish second on the ladder and have home court advantage for the semi final series.

2024/25 will be the fifth consecutive season that one of Perth and Townsville make the Grand Final. Townsville were beaten in the 2020 Grand Final and won the Grand Final in 2022/23 to win the WNBL championship. In 2021/22 and 2023/24 Perth made it to the Grand Final and won game 1 before being defeated in games 2 and 3 to finish runners-up.

The two clubs have stability with their Head Coach, Ryan Petrik is in his fifth season as Head Coach of Perth and Shannon Seebohm is in his sixth season as Townsville’s HC. Whilst 2024/25 will be the third season in a row that Perth and Townsville will play each other in the semi finals there has been a significant difference in the level of continuity on the roster for the clubs from 2023/24 to 2024/25. Seven of the nine players that average more than 10.0 minutes per game for Perth in 2024/25 played for the club last season. The two off-season recruits for Perth that are starters in 2024/25 are Ally Wilson and Laeticia Amihere. Townsville had high roster turnover in the off-season and only two players, Courtney Woods and Saffron Shiels that are averaging more than 10.0 minutes per game in 2024/25 suited up for the Fire in 2023/24.

Which clubs are in contention for the remaining finals position? What results are required for each contender to finish fourth?

Three teams, Sydney Flames, UC Capitals and Adelaide Lightning are all in contention to finish fourth and secure the remaining place on the WNBL finals grid. If two of these clubs finish the regular season with the same win-loss record the Head to Head results between the two clubs will determine which team finishes higher on the ladder. The Head to Head results between Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide is like the rock, paper, scissors scenario with mixed results in the Head to Head contests. The three clubs from fourth to sixth have each won one Head to Head series and lost one Head to Head series against the two other teams in this bracket. Sydney lead the UC Capitals two games to nil, UC Capitals defeated Adelaide two games to one and Adelaide defeated Sydney two games to one.

Team Record at 8 February Maximum wins
Sydney 18 played, 7 wins, 11 losses 10
UC Capitals 19 played, 7 wins, 12 losses 9
Adelaide Lightning 19 played, 6 wins, 13 losses 8

Of the three contenders for fourth place the Sydney Flames have the largest combination of outcomes that will result in them finishing fourth. The Flames are in the strongest position among the three finals contenders due to being ranked equal first among this group with the UC Capitals with seven wins and having one more game to play than the Caps and Lightning.

Six of the seven remaining games in the 2024/25 regular season involve at least one of Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide. The only game that doesn’t involve one of this trio of teams is the final game of the season which will determine second place on the ladder with Townsville hosting Perth. The most critical game to decide fourth place is the UC Capitals hosting Sydney Flames at the AIS Arena on Sunday 9 February. Whichever teams wins the game between the third game between the Caps and Flames for the season will be in fourth place at the end of Round 15 but the ladder order could still change in Round 16. If Sydney defeat the UC Capitals they will eliminate the Caps from finals contention and be very likely to make the finals but Adelaide will have a slim chance to overtake the Flames and finish fourth. If UC Capitals defeat Sydney tomorrow Adelaide Lightning would be eliminated from finals contention and results in Round 16 would determine if the UC Capitals or Sydney Flames finish in fourth position.

There is only one possible combination of results from the six games involving at least one of Adelaide, Sydney and UC Capitals that would enable Adelaide to get their desired outcome and finish fourth. This combination of results is listed below:

• Adelaide defeat Southside and defeat Geelong.

• Sydney defeat UC Capitals, lose to Townsville and lose to Southside.

• UC Capitals lose to Sydney and lose to Bendigo.

This would result in Adelaide and Sydney ending the regular season on eight wins followed by the UC Capitals with seven wins. Adelaide won their Head to Head series against Sydney two games to one so would win the tie-breaker against the Flames and finish fourth.

If the UC Capitals win one of their remaining two games they are certain to finish ahead of Adelaide. The UC Capitals will finish in outright fourth position if they win both of their remaining games and Sydney only win one of their two games in Round 16. The Caps can also finish outright fourth if they defeat Sydney and lose to Bendigo if Sydney lose both of their Round 16 games and Adelaide have at least one loss in their last two games.

The only way that the UC Capitals can finish ahead of Sydney in a tie-breaker is if the Caps defeat Sydney tomorrow and are in a three-way tie-breaker on eight wins with the Flames and Lightning. In that instance the UC Capitals, Sydney and Adelaide would each have three wins and three losses in the Head to Head games between the two clubs. Points difference in the games between these clubs would be used as a tie-breaker. The UC Capitals would need to defeat Sydney by at least two points to win the tie-breaker. The Caps defeating Sydney by one point wouldn’t be enough to win the tie-breaker as Sydney would have a points difference of plus 7 just ahead of the UC Caps with a points difference of plus 5. More detail on a three team tie-breaker between Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide is provided in the section below.

A Sydney victory against the UC Capitals tomorrow would eliminate the Caps from finals contention. A Flames victory in at least one of their last two games and/or Adelaide losing at least one of their last two games would lock in fourth place for Sydney. Sydney will finish in outright fourth position if they win all three remaining games or defeat the UC Capitals and win one of their last two games of the season against Townsville and Sydney.

If Sydney lose to the UC Capitals on Sunday 9 February they will drop to fifth place on the ladder and remain on seven wins, one win behind the Caps in fourth place. Sydney would still have their destiny in their own hands and could make the finals if they won both of their Round 16 games against Townsville and Southside. Sydney would finish the season with nine wins and 12 losses to finish in outright fourth place. If the UC Capitals lose to Bendigo, Sydney would finish in outright fourth place. If the Caps have an upset win against Bendigo the Flames and Caps would both finish the season on nine wins. The Sydney Flames winning the season series 2-1 against the UC Capitals would enable them to win the tie-breaker between the two clubs and finish fourth. The possible outcomes if Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide are tied on eight wins and require a three team tie-breaker are covered in the section below.

3 team tie-breaker between Sydney Flames, UC Capitals and Adelaide Lightning

It is possible for the three teams in contention for fourth place, Sydney Flames, UC Capitals and Adelaide Lightning to finish tied on eight wins apiece at the end of the regular season. If this occurs a three team tie-breaker would be utilised to determine which team finishes fourth.
For the three teams to be tied on eight wins at the end of the regular season Sydney need to win one of their remaining three games, the UC Capitals need to win one of their remaining two games and Adelaide must win their last two games of the season. The game on Sunday 9 February with the UC Capitals hosting Sydney tomorrow will have an impact on this tie-breaker. The UC Capitals need one more victory to reach eight wins and they are more likely to defeat Sydney then the ladder leading Bendigo Spirit who have only lost two games for the season. The Caps defeating Sydney would increase the likelihood of a three team tie-breaker occurring.

One combination of results that would have Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide tied on 8 wins is:

• Sydney lose to UC Capitals, lose to Townsville and defeat Southside.

• UC Capitals defeat Sydney and lose to Bendigo.

• Adelaide defeat Southside and defeat Geelong.

In tie-breaker A Sydney clean-sweeping the UC Capitals 3 games to nil would be critical to them wining the tie-breaker with a 4 win, 2 loss record and finishing fourth on the WNBL ladder to secure a finals berth. Adelaide with three wins and three losses in the tie-breaker would finish fifth, ahead of the UC Capitals in sixth place, having two wins and four losses in the Head to Head games against Sydney and Adelaide.

Tie-breaker B – between Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide
UC Capitals defeat Sydney on 9 February.

If the UC Capitals defeat Sydney tomorrow, a three team tie-breaker between Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide would result in all three teams being locked on three wins apiece. In this instance points difference in the Head to Head games between these three clubs would be required as a tie-breaker. The UC Capitals victory margin in tomorrow’s game against Sydney has an impact on whether the Caps or Flames win the tie-breaker between the two clubs. Adelaide have a points difference of minus 12 and can’t win the three team tie-breaker. At least one of Sydney and the UC Capitals will have a positive points difference.

If the UC Capitals defeat Sydney by three points in their home game tomorrow they will have a points difference of + 7 to win the tie-breaker against Sydney (+5) and Adelaide (-12). The UC Capitals would win tie-breaker B1, finish fourth and play Bendigo Spirit in the semi finals. Sydney Flames would finish fifth followed by Adelaide Lightning in sixth place. The points difference showed in B1 is based on the UC Capitals defeating Sydney by three points in their home game on Sunday 9 February. If the Caps winning margin is greater than three points their points difference advantage over Sydney would increase.

In tie-breaker B2 the Sydney Flames with a points difference of +7 would finish ahead of the UC Capitals with a points difference of +5. The Sydney Flames would fourth and play Bendigo Spirit in the semi finals. UC Capitals would finish fifth ahead of Adelaide Lightning in sixth place.

In tie-breaker B3 the Sydney Flames and UC Capitals would be locked together with a points difference of +6. The next criteria is “Higher number of game points scored in the games between them.”2 The Sydney Flames have scored 194 points in their two games against the UC Capitals and 211 points in their three games against the UC Capitals for a total of 405 points for. The UC Capitals have scored 173 points in their two games against the Sydney Flames and 246 points in their three games against Adelaide Lightning for a total of 419 points. The UC Capitals are currently ahead of the Sydney Flames for points for by 14 points in this tie-breaker. In tie-breaker B3 the UC Capitals defeat Sydney by two points tomorrow which would result in the Caps points for advantage increasing to 16 points. The UC Capitals would win tie-breaker B3, finish fourth and play Bendigo Spirit in the semi finals. Sydney Flames would finish fifth followed by Adelaide Lightning in sixth place.

Clubs that have qualified for the 2024/25 WNBL finals or are in contention

A club by club summary is provided below which includes ladder position and win-loss record at 8 February as well as upcoming games and the impact the results of these games could have on the club’s end of season ladder position. The clubs are listed in ladder position order at 8 February.

1. Bendigo Spirit

Record at 8 February 2025: In first place with 18 wins and 2 losses.

Remaining game: UC Capitals (away) at AIS Arena on Saturday 15 February.

Bendigo will finish the regular season in first place.

A quartet of Bendigo Spirit players that averaged at least 16.0 minutes per game and played more than 16 games each in 2023/24 signed with the club for 2024/25, Kelly Wilson, Kelsey Griffin, Abbey Wehrung and Casey Samuels. The Spirit recruited exceptionally in the off-season to sign Australian Opals duo Sami Whitcomb and Marianna Tolo along with American import guard Veronica Burton. These seven players have formed Bendigo Spirit’s core this season, each averaging more than 22.0 minutes per game. Kennedy Kereama is in his third season as the Spirit’s Head Coach. Other players on Bendigo’s 24/25 main roster are Micah Simpson, Opal Bird and Ashlee Hannan. Griffin and Wilson had been starters along with off-season recruit Tolo on the UC Capitals 2018/19 championship winning team. Whitcomb and Tolo have significant experience as Australian Opals teammates including being members of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Due to a fractured finger Bendigo captain Griffin was on the sidelines at the start of the 2024/25 season. Wehrung was a starter in Bendigo’s opening game of the season at home against Adelaide but then missed the club’s next three games due to concussion. Whilst Griffin recovered from her injury Samuels was a member of the Spirit’s starting line-up along with Burton, Whitcomb, Wilson and Tolo. Griffin missed six games and played her first game of 24/25 for the Spirit off the bench in a home game against the UC Capitals on 30 November.

Bendigo Spirit won their first nine games of 2024/25 to have the best start to a WNBL season in their club history, surpassing seven wins to start 2022/23. After going through the first seven rounds undefeated Bendigo suffered back to back three point losses in Round 8, at home against Perth and on the road against Southside. Griffin was brought into Bendigo’s starting line-up for the Round 9 road game against Adelaide Lightning on 27 December with Samuels commencing the game on the bench. Griffin had commenced the first five games of her 2024/25 season on the bench, building up conditioning and playing less than 27.5 minutes court time in each of these games.

On January 12 the Spirit recorded their 13th win of the season in a home game against Sydney on the final day of Round 11 to book their ticket to the 2024/25 finals with five rounds remaining in the regular season.

Although Bendigo have convincingly finished on top of the ladder they were in jeopardy of losing top spot in mid-January. Bendigo and Perth split their first two games of the season with Bendigo having a six point road victory on 5 December an a three point road loss on 19 December. When Bendigo hosted Perth at Red Energy Arena on 15 January Bendigo had two losses for the season and Perth had been defeated three times. The victor in game 3 between the two clubs would win the Bendigo-Peth Head to Head series two games to one. If Perth defeated Bendigo on 15 January the Lynx would have drawn level with Bendigo on wins and would have moved to the top of the ladder due to winning the season series. Perth gained the ascendancy in the first half of the 15 January game and led by eight points at half time 53-45. The Spirit made slight inroads in the third term to outscore the Lynx 20-17 to reduce the deficit to five points at the last change. Bendigo dominated the last term 30-16 on the back of shooting at 80% from the field to Perth’s 23.5%. After being tested Bendigo recorded a nine point win over the Lynx 95-86.
After Bendigo’s Round 12 home victory against Perth on Wednesday January 15 Megan Hustwaite in a post-game television interview for ESPN asked Sami Whitcomb “Everyone talks about this group being special, what makes it so special Sami?” Whitcomb responded “I think the fact that we can get down to a really tough team, nothing is going our way and we can have the poise to fight back in the second half. We are just a really selfless, hardworking team group.” Hustwaite said “And you have won in every fashion.” Whitcomb replied “Yeah we have, we have won ugly, we have won nice basketball, blowouts, comebacks, all of it so it is good.”

Sami Whitcomb playing for Bendigo Spirit against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

With their 17th victory of the season in a Round 14 road game against Geelong United on Wednesday 29 January Bendigo Spirit locked in top place at the end of the regular season to hold pole position on the WNBL finals grid and a semi finals match-up against the 4th placed team. Bendigo have broken a nine season WNBL finals drought. In each of Bendigo Spirit’s three previous finals appearances from 2012/13 to 2014/15 they made the Grand Final. Two starters on Bendigo Spirit’s back to back WNBL Championships in 2012/13 and 2013/14, Griffin and Wilson are starters on the Spirit team in 2024/25 that is attempting to win the club’s third WNBL championship.

In a post-game interview on 9 GO’s coverage of Bendigo’s Round 14 home game against Southside on 2 February Gabe Richards asked Kennedy Kereama “How important is it to have a full team effort heading into the finals?” Kereama responded “Really important to be able to give people opportunity and rhythm and we have been fortunate to do that the majority of the season. We really just want to have a group that is playing great team basketball, feeling fresh and I think we have done a really good job of achieving those things.”

A quartet of Spirit players rank in the WNBL’s top five in at least one key statistical category for 2024/25, MVP favourite Whitcomb leads the league with 21.5 points per game, Griffin ranks fourth with 10.3 rebounds and Tolo ranks fifth with 1.3 blocks. Whitcomb and Burton rank third and fourth with 5.0 and 4.6 assists per game respectively. The WNBL record holder for games and career assists Kelly Wilson ranks 10th in 2024/25 with 1.7 steals per game. Highlighting their depth two Bendigo players that have commenced at least nine games on the bench rank in the WNBL’s top 10 for three-pointers made per game – Samuels (2.3 3PM per game – 3rd) and Wehrung (2.0 3PM per game – equal 6th).
Bendigo lead the WNBL in 2024/25 with 10.9 three pointers made per game and rank first with a three point accuracy of 37.2%. Whitcomb has shot the ball exceptionally from long range to lead the league with 3.5 3PM per game and has a three point accuracy of 42.3%, ranked fifth in the league among players that have had at least 20 3PA. The statistic that highlights Bendigo’s shooting prowess the most is free throw accuracy. The Spirit led the league for free throw accuracy with 85.2% ahead of Southside Flyers (80.6%) and Townsville Fire (75.3%). All seven Bendigo players that average more than 20 minutes per game have a free throw accuracy of at least 81.0% which is better than the second best team in this category.

Kelsey Griffin making a lay up for Bendigo Spirit against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

2024/25 is the third time that Bendigo have finished on top of the ladder, having previously achieved this feat in 2012/13 (21 wins, 3 losses) and 2013/14 (22 wins, 2 losses) when Griffin and Wilson were starters. The level of enjoyment Griffin and Wilson have being teammates playing for Bendigo is a key factor in the duo playing in the WNBL. Having players and people the calibre of Kelsey and Kelly has been a drawcard in the Spirit recruiting players so it is fitting that the duo are starters on a Bendigo team that has won the 2024/25 minor premiership and is making a long awaited return to the WNBL finals.

2. Perth Lynx

Record at 8 February 2025: In second place with 15 wins and 5 losses.
Remaining game:
Townsville Fire (away) at Townsville Entertainment Centre on Sunday 16 February.

The Perth Lynx season series status against the team they might tie with is:
Perth are level with Townsville 1-1 with the third and final game to decide the series result. The winner of Perth’s road game against Townsville on February 16 will win the series. Perth will finish in second place if they defeat Townsville Fire in in their final regular season game, a loss to Townsville would result in Perth finishing third.

Ryan Petrik is Head Coach of Perth Lynx for a fifth consecutive season in 2024/25, having commenced the role in 2020. In two of the past three seasons, 2021/22 and 2023/24 Perth have fallen agonisingly short of winning the club’s second WNBL championship, losing both grand final series in three games after having a game 1 road victory. Perth had significant roster turnover in the three seasons from 2021/22 to 2023/24. The Lynx have far more continuity heading into 2024/25 than after their 2021/22 runners-up season. Five of Perth’s returning players from 2023/24 – Amy Atwell, Anneli Maley, Miela Sowah (nee Goodchild), Steph Gorman and Alex Ciabattoni have each averaged more than 22.0 minutes per game in 2024/25. Seven of the nine players that have averaged more than 10.0 minutes per game played for Perth last season with frontcourt players Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard and Tiege Morrell also being in this category. In the off-season Perth recruited two Olympians well suited to the Lynx’s up-tempo brand of basketball, Australian guard Ally Wilson and Canadian forward Laeticia Amihere.

Perth Lynx team huddle after their victory against the Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 1 December 2024

Much of Perth Lynx’s 2023/24 game style was designed around speedy import point guard Aari McDonald who led the league in scoring with 20.8 points per game. McDonald was the barometer for Perth last season and the team struggled when she had an extended stint on the sidelines due to an injury. The performance of Perth Lynx’s starting point guard was going to be critical to the team’s fortunes in 2024/25. For this role Perth recruited Wilson, a player that entered the 2024/25 WNBL season with 225 games experience and is a member of the Australian Gangurrus team along with Perth Lynx captain Anneli Maley. Wilson ranks third for Perth with 14.3 points per game and ranks sixth in the WNBL with 4.5 assists per game.

In an article published by Perth Lynx on 23 January 2025 Wilson commented “Me being a point guard, I sort of just try to do whatever the team needs me to do in each game for us to get a win. Sometimes that’s me having five points and 10 assists, and sometimes that means scoring 29 points or whatever it is.”3 On playing for the Lynx Wilson commented “I’m absolutely loving it and I feel like I’m thriving in the system that Ryan Petrik coaches here at Perth. It’s fast paced, it’s exciting and it’s all about shooting the ball in the first eight seconds of the shot clock if you can. That all really suits me down to the ground as a player so I feel like I’ve been thriving in that environment and how Ryan coaches really suits me. The group of girls have been amazing too and I’ve come into a group where the core was together from last year and they’ve all been so welcoming. I feel like I’ve just fit in with them seamlessly which has been really good.”4

Ally Wilson making a lay up for Perth Lynx in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

Seven of Perth’s top nine players for minutes per game this season have played at least 19 of Perth’s first 20 games of the season. The two exceptions are Atwell who was on the sidelines at the start of the season with a knee injury and has played 13 games and Ciabattoni who has played 16 games. Despite only starting four of her 13 games in 2024/25 Atwell ranks fifth in the league with 2.1 3PM, just ahead of teammate Sowah in equal sixth place with 2.0 3PM. Maley, Wilson, Amihere and Sowah have each started at least 19 of Perth’s 20 games in 2024/25.

Miela Sowah (nee Goodchild) shooting a three-pointer for Perth Lynx in their road game Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 1 December 2024

Perth Lynx were the second club to lock in a 2024/25 finals berth, achieving this feat with their 13th victory of the season in a Round 12 home game against Southside Flyers on Saturday 18 January. It is the fourth consecutive season that Perth Lynx have made the finals with Ryan Petrik as their Head Coach.
Under Head Coach Petrik Perth play an up-tempo pace and space style of basketball. Perth lead the league with 86.4 points per game and rank first with 41.5 rebounds per game. Perth captain Maley ranks second in the league with 12.1 rebounds per game, Sowah ranks fifth with 16.0 points per game closely followed by Amihere in sixth place with 15.8 points. Amihere has been filling up the stat sheet and also ranks equal fifth for steals (1.9) and equal fourth for blocks (1.3).

Laeticia Amihere taking a rebound for Perth Lynx against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 1 December 2024

One of the things that counted against Perth in the 2023/24 WNBL Grand Final against Southside was their lack of experience compared to their counterparts. 12 months on it is a vastly different situation with the team having gained a great deal of experience. In addition to their WNBL experience four members of Perth’s 2024/25 represented their nation at the 2024 Paris Olympics Wilson and Maley for the Gangurrus 3×3 team, Atwell as a member of the Opals bronze medal winning team and Amihere as part of Canada’s five on five team.

Anneli Maley and Ally Wilson after the Perth Lynx victory against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 1 December 2024

3. Townsville Fire

Record at 8 February 2025: In third place with 14 wins and 5 losses.
Remaining games:
Sydney Flames (away) at Quaycentre on Wednesday 12 February
Perth Lynx (home) at Townsville Entertainment Centre on Sunday 16 February.

The Townsville Fire series status against the team they might tie with is:
Townsville are level with Perth 1-1 with the 3rd and final game to decide the series result.
A Townsville victory against Perth on 16 February would result in the Fire finishing in second place and remaining in Townsville to play game one of their semi final series against Perth the following weekend. A loss to Perth would result in Townsville playing game one of their semi final series on the road against Perth at Bendat Basketball Centre.

A Townsville victory against Perth on 16 February would result in the Fire finishing in second place and remaining in Townsville to play game one of their semi final series against Perth the following weekend. A loss to Perth would result in Townsville playing game one of their semi final series on the road against Perth at Bendat Basketball Centre.

A Townsville victory against Perth on 16 February would result in the Fire finishing in second place and remaining in Townsville to play game one of their semi final series against Perth the following weekend. A loss to Perth would result in Townsville playing game one of their semi final series on the road against Perth at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Shannon Seebohm is in his sixth season as Head Coach of Townsville Fire and has had significant success at the club. Townsville Fire finished on top of the WNBL ladder in both 2022/23 and 2023/24. With Seebohm as Head Coach Townsville have made two grand finals, finishing runners-up to Southside in 2020 and defeating Southside in 2023/24 to win the WNBL championship, Townsville’s fourth title in a decade.

The Fire had a new look roster in 2024/25 and the only two returning players from 2023/24 that have averaged more than 10 minutes per game are guard duo Courtney Woods and Saffron Shiels. In the off-season Townsville recruited three players from rival WNBL clubs, Lauren Mansfield (Adelaide Lightning), Alicia Froling (Bendigo Spirit) and Alex Fowler (UC Capitals). On their main roster Townsville also had five players making their WNBL debut, American import duo Lauren Cox and Zia Cooke along with Australian trio Abbey Ellis, Nya Lok and Lucy Cochrane.

Townsville started the season well to win their opening two games of the season, both on the road, defeating expansion club Geelong United by 26 points and 2023/24 Grand Finalists Perth by four points. In a difficult stretch after that the Fire lost three of their next four games including suffering a 26 point road loss to Perth on 27 November.

Guard Cooke played seven games for the Fire before leaving the club and returning to America. Townsville spent some time playing with one import whilst assessing their options. On 5 January Townsville announced that they had signed American import Nia Coffey. In her previous WNBL season with Adelaide Lightning in 2018/19 Coffey excelled to win the club’s MVP Award and was selected in the All-WNBL First Team. Coffey has played six games for Townsville this season including five as a starter.
Throughout the season Townsville’s team chemistry has developed and in 2025 the Fire have won all seven games that they have played. On 22 January Townville Fire registered their 11th win of 2024/25 in a home game against Sydney at the Townsville Entertainment Centre to lock in a finals berth.

Only three of Townville’s players had more than 30 games WNBL experience at the start of the 2024/25 season, Mansfield (196 games), Woods (77) and Froling (73). This trio were appointed as the Fire’s co-captain’s and have played pivotal roles in the club finishing in the top three with a new look roster. At the post game press conference after Townsville’s round 14 victory against Southside at the State Basketball Centre on Friday 31 January Seebohm commented on the Fire’s co-captains “They all bring something different, Loz is kind of the arm around the shoulder person, Frols leads by her effort and physicality, and the grunt work sort of stuff and I think Woody is really starting to develop as the person that can kind of say ‘This is what we need to do, why you are doing that’ lead with her voice a lot more.”

Townsville Fire lead the league with 19.5 assists per game a superb result, especially given the amount of turnover on the roster in the off-season. In the post game press conference after Townsville’s Round 14 road win against Southside the Fire’s Head Coach Shannon Seebohm commented “We have a lot of players that we really believe in, we are trying to play that style where it is a really team oriented style where we share the ball and hopefully a lot of our baskets come off assists and not one on creation. We are getting better at it, we are really starting to understand different pick and roll coverages that we see, what we are meant to do against each one and how we attack them. I think just the better we get at that the better it is going to be for us.”

In 2024/25 Townsville Fire rank first in the WNBL with a field goal accuracy of 45.1%. Six players that are currently on Townsville’s roster average more than 8.5 points per game led by Woods (16.2 points per game) and Cox (13.8). Woods ranks fourth in the league in scoring and second with 6.0 assists per game, a 240% improvement on her previous WNBL career-high of 2.5 assists per game in 2023/24. Cox ranks second in the league with 3.2 blocks per game and equal ninth for rebounds (7.9).

In five of their past six games Townville have won by at least 10 points. The Fire have also shown that they can deliver in the pressure moments when the game is on the line with Courtney Woods against Adelaide on 29 November and Abbey Ellis against Southside on 4 January both showing poise to make buzzer beating match winning baskets on the road.

Townsville celebrating after Abbey Ellis made a buzzer beating game winning three pointer in a road game against the Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 4 January 2025

4. Sydney Flames

Record at 8 February 2025: In fourth place with 7 wins and 11 losses
Remaining games:
UC Capitals (away) at AIS Arena on Sunday 9 February.
Townsville Fire (home) at Quaycentre on Wednesday 12 February.
Southside Flyers (home) at Quaycentre on Saturday 15 February.

The Sydney Flames season series results against the two teams they might tie with are:
Sydney lead the series against UC Capitals 2-0
Sydney lost the series to Adelaide 1-2

A Sydney victory against the UC Capitals on Sunday 9 February would eliminate the Caps from finals contention. A Flames victory in at least one of their last two games and/or Adelaide losing at least one of their last two games would lock in fourth place for Sydney. Sydney will finish in outright fourth position if they win all three remaining games or defeat the UC Capitals and win one of their last two games of the season against Townsville and Sydney.

If Sydney lose to the UC Capitals on Sunday 9 February they will drop to fifth place on the ladder and remain on seven wins, one win behind the Caps in fourth place. Sydney would still have their destiny in their own hands and could make the finals if they won both of their Round 16 games against Townsville and Southside. Sydney would finish the season with nine wins and 12 losses to finish in outright fourth place. If the UC Capitals lose to Bendigo, Sydney would finish in outright fourth place. If the Caps have an upset win against Bendigo the Flames and Caps would both finish the season on nine wins. The Sydney Flames winning the season series 2-1 against the UC Capitals would enable them to win the tie-breaker between the two clubs and finish fourth. The possible outcomes if Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide are tied on eight wins and require a three team tie-breaker were covered earlier in this article in the three team tie-breaker section.

2024/25 season
In 2023/24 Sydney with a new look roster and Guy Molloy in his first season as Head Coach of the club fell one win short of making the playoffs. In the off-season the Flames signed five of the seven players that averaged more than 16.5 minutes per game in 2023/24 and the club was on track to have greater continuity with their roster in 2024/25. The players in this category were Lauren Nicholson, Cayla George, DiDi Richards, Shaneice Swain and Emma Clarke.

Two of these five re-signed players were unable to play for the Flames in 2024/25. In October 2024 it was announced that Nicholson was pregnant with her first child. American import Richards had to withdraw from the 2024/25 WNBL season due to injury. The Sydney Flames needing to find replacements for two starters that both earnt All-WNBL selection in 2023/24 in Nicholson and Richards increased the degree of difficulty in constructing their 2024/25 roster. Sydney recruited two players from rival clubs that had previous experience playing for the Flames in Mikaela Ruef (Townsville Fire) and Sherrie Calleia (Melbourne Boomers). Sydney recruited America import duo Celeste Taylor and Yemiyah Morris along with Australian guard duo Isabella Brancatisano and Bonnie Deas.

For the 10th spot on the Flames main roster opened up by Nicholson being unable to play the Flames opted to elevate Carla Pitman who had played one game for the club as a development player in 2023/24. Early in the season Sydney signed guard Tahlia Tupaea to join the club mid-season after completing her commitments playing for Northern Kahu in the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa in New Zealand.

The Sydney Flames in a team huddle after their road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 9 November 2024

Three of the nine players that have averaged more than 15.0 minutes per game for Sydney have played less than 10 games, Clarke (9 games) and Ruef (7 games) and Tupaea (8 games) due to joining the club mid-season. Sydney having a lack of continuity in the off-season and during the season has created an opportunity for other players to take on a greater role and have more responsibility. One player that has benefited from this is Pitman who has played 18 games and is averaging 5.7 points and 20.5 minutes per game. A massive leap from playing one game as a DP in 2023/24.

On the road Sydney were able to defeat the UC Capitals 92-88 on the road in overtime on 30 January at AIS Arena. The victory meant that the Sydney took an unbeatable two games to nil lead in the head to head series between the two clubs. Swain was phenomenal, scoring 17 points in the first quarter and finishing the game with 36 points at 58.3% from the field, four rebounds and six assists to be named the WNBL’s Player of the Round.

On Sunday 9 February Sydney again play the UC Capitals on the road at AIS Arena. Sydney Head Coach Molloy commented “I was so proud of how our group came together in that last game and ground out the win in Canberra. Our whole group took a lot of confidence away from that result, where our backs were against the wall and I know that will give us a lot of confidence going into Sunday. We know how important this game is in terms of finals, and after a strong week at training, following a short rest, our team will be ready to play Flames basketball and prove why we belong in the top four.”5

Shaneice Swain shooting a free throw in the Sydney Flames road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 9 November 2024

Sydney have two players ranked in the WNBL’s top seven for scoring – Swain (3rd – 18.6 points per game) and George (7th – 15.3). George ranks third in the league with 10.6 rebounds per game and ranks seventh for blocks (1.1). In 2024/25 Swain has spent more time playing as a point guard and ranks eighth in the league with 3.9 assists per game. In a road game against Townsville on 22 January Swain achieved a rare feat by scoring 40 points at 64% from the field and made seven of 12 three-pointers at an accuracy of 58.3%.

5. UC Capitals

Record at 8 February 2025: In sixth place with 7 wins and 12 losses
2 remaining games:

Sydney Flames (home) at AIS Arena on Sunday 9 February.
Bendigo Spirit (home) at AIS Arena on Saturday 15 February.

The UC Capitals season series results against the two teams they might tie with are:
UC Capitals trail in series against Sydney Flames 0-2
UC Capitals won series against Adelaide Lightning 2-1

If the UC Capitals win one of their remaining two games they are certain to finish ahead of Adelaide. The UC Capitals will finish in outright fourth position if they win both of their remaining games and Sydney only win one of their two games in Round 16. The Caps can also finish outright fourth if they defeat Sydney and lose to Bendigo if Sydney lose both of their Round 16 games and Adelaide have at least one loss in their last two games.

The only way that the UC Capitals can finish ahead of Sydney in a tie-breaker is if the Caps defeat Sydney on Sunday 9 February and are in a three-way tie-breaker on eight wins with the Flames and Lightning. In that instance the UC Capitals, Sydney and Adelaide would each have three wins and three losses in the Head to Head games between the two clubs. Points difference in the games between these clubs would be used as a tie-breaker. The UC Capitals would need to defeat Sydney by at least two points to win the tie-breaker. The Caps defeating Sydney by one point wouldn’t be enough to win the tie-breaker as Sydney would have a points difference of plus 7 just ahead of the UC Caps with a points difference of plus 5. More detail on a three tie-breaker between Sydney, UC Capitals and Adelaide is provided in the three team tie-breaker section earlier in this article.

2024/25 season
Two guards that were starters for the Capitals in 2023/24 have played all 19 games for the Caps in 2024/25, the captain Jade Melbourne and American import Nicole Munger. After playing all 21 games for the Caps in 2023/24 guard Jayda Clark has missed the 2024/25 season with an ACL injury. Two forwards that attended the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in Canberra earlier in their career joined the Capitals in the off-season, Chantel Horvat and Nyadiew Puoch. Horvat was a member of the Opals bronze medal winning team at FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2023 in Sydney and has experience playing club basketball in Europe. Puoch is in her third WNBL season and was a member of the Southside Flyers championship winning team in 2023/24.

In the off-season the Capitals recruited five players who each had less than 15 games WNBL experience, guards Indiah Bowyer, Monique Bobongie and Katie Deeble along with front court players Ella Tofaeono and Meg Jefferson. Bowyer and Tofaeono were development players for Townsville Fire in 2023/24. The Capitals completed their 2024/25 main roster by signing WNBA 2021, number 1 draft pick, centre Charli Collier.

At the start of the 2024/25 WNBL season the UC Capitals easily had the least experienced main roster in the league and only had three players with more than 25 games experience – Jade Melbourne (68 games) Nyadiew Puoch (52) and Nicole Munger (37). At 26 years of age Munger is the only member of this trio that is 23 years of age or older. Six of the UC Capitals rival clubs in the WNBL had multiple players with at least 100 games experience, the exception being Townsville with one player in this category.

In their previous two WNBL seasons the UC Capitals had a total of six wins from 42 games comprised of two wins in 2022/23 and four wins in 2023/24. At the end of 2024 the Caps 2024/25 record was two wins and 10 losses, placing them at very long odds to make the 2024/25 finals. In 2025 the UC Capitals have turned things around in dramatic fashion to have five wins and two losses from their seven games to emerge as a finals contender. One of these losses was a heart-breaking four point loss in overtime at home to the Sydney Flames on 30 January at AIS Arena.

The UC Capitals improved form in 2025 has catapulted them into fifth place, on the same number of wins as fourth placed Sydney. On Sunday 9 February the UC Capitals again host Sydney at AIS Arena. The prize for the winner is fourth place at the end of Round 15 and an increased likelihood of making the finals.
Although the UC Capitals have gone from a longshot to make finals at the start of the year to be realistic chance now Caps Head Coach Paul Gorris doesn’t want the team to change their approach. In an article published on the UC Capitals website on 5 February Gorris commented “Our focus for the season has been winning games. When we had that little run after Christmas, we started to speak about how we’re a chance to make the playoffs mathematically. We sort of approach each game as it is, there are still too many permeations about who can make it, and who’s got what series win. We’ve definitely discussed it but to me it’s not a high-pressure situation because we have been in must win games the last couple of weeks to make us still a mathematical chance of making finals.”5

Paul Gorris providing instructions to the UC Capitals team during a time out in the road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 17 November 2024

Six of the players ranked in the UC Capitals top seven for minutes played per game have played at least 18 of the Caps 19 games – Melbourne, Collier, Puoch, Munger, Bobongie and Bowyer. The exception is Horvat who is the sidelines and out for the rest of the season due to ankle and wrist injuries after playing 15 games in her debut WNBL season. On 10 January the UC Capitals announced that they had signed 2014/15 WNBL MVP Abby Bishop has an injury replacement player.

Jade Melbourne playing for the UC Capitals in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 17 November 2024

22 year old UC Capitals captain Jade Melbourne leads the league with 7.0 assists per game, ranks eighth with 15.0 points and equal third with 2.0 steals per game. In a Caps Round 13 home game against Southside on 25 January Melbourne recorded a triple double comprised of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Melbourne is the only current WNBL player and the only player in the past 15 years to have multiple triple doubles in their WNBL career. Collier ranks seventh in the league with 8.4 rebounds per game. Five Capitals average more than 9.5 points per game – Melbourne, Collier, Puoch, Horvat and Munger. Three UC Capitals players that had less than 15 games experience each at the start of the season are averaging more than 10.0 minutes and 5.0 points per game in 2024/25– Bobongie, Bowyer and Tofaeono.

6. Adelaide Lightning

Record at 8 February 2025: In sixth place with 6 wins and 13 losses

2 remaining games:
Townsville Fire (home) at Adelaide 36ers Arena on Wednesday 5 February.
Southside Flyers (away) at the State Basketball Centre on Sunday 9 February.
Geelong United (home) at Adelaide 36ers Arena on Sunday 16 February.

The Adelaide Lightning season series results against the two teams they might tie with are:
Adelaide won the series against Sydney 2-1
Adelaide lost the series to UC Capitals 1-2

Adelaide Lightning’s home loss to Townsville Fire in the opening game of Round 15 significantly increased the degree of difficulty for the club to make the finals and it is now impossible for the Lightning to finish in outright fourth position. With six wins Adelaide are one win behind the two teams above them on the ladder, Sydney and the UC Capitals. As the UC Capitals host Sydney on Sunday 9 February at least one of these two clubs will reach 8 wins. As covered earlier in this article Adelaide wont win a three team tie-breaker with the Flames and Caps regardless of which team wins the encounter between these two clubs. Adelaide have won the season series against the Sydney Flames two games to one so will make the finals if they are in a two team tie-breaker with the Flames for fourth place. Six of the seven remaining games involve at least one of the three teams in contention for fourth place. There is only one possible combination of results from these six games that would enable Adelaide to get their desired outcome and finish fourth. This combination of results is listed below:

• Adelaide defeat Southside and defeat Geelong.
• Sydney defeat UC Capitals, lose to Townsville and lose to Southside.
• UC Capitals lose to Sydney and lose to Bendigo.

Both of Adelaide’s remaining two opponents – Southside and Geelong are below them on the ladder and are out of finals contention. Geelong have proved a difficult match-up with the Lightning losing both of their road games against Geelong, the first defeat being in overtime in Round 3. The UC Capitals and Sydney contest shapes as a 50/50 game given how close the UC Capitals and Sydney are on the ladder and that their last game went to overtime. Adelaide require Sydney to defeat the Caps and then suffer an upset loss to Southside.

2024/25 season
2024/25 was Nat Hurst’s third season as Adelaide Lightning’s Head Coach. Four players from Adelaide’s 2023/24 roster are starters in 2024/25 and are averaging more than 30.0 minutes per game. Australian trio Isobel Borlase, Isabelle Bourne and Steph Talbot along with American import forward Brianna Turner. Another returning player guard Brooke Basham has had an expanded role in 2024/25 and is averaging 20.6 minutes per game. After playing all 21 games for the Lightning in 2023/24 Tayla Brazel has missed the 2024/25 season due to an ACL injury. Three off-season recruits are members of the Lightning’s eight player core rotation, American import point guard Japreece Dean and Australia duo Haylee Andrews and Georgia Pineau. Seven of the eight players in Adelaide’s core rotation have played at least 17 of Adelaide’s 19 games, Dean is the exception having missed four games with a broken hand.

Isobel Borlase playing for Adelaide Lightning in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 6 December 2024

In November Adelaide suffered several close losses, losing to Geelong on the road by six points in overtime and had back to back single figure losses to Townsville, by six points on the road followed by one point at home. In the first loss to Townsville on 23 November the Lightning led by 20 points, 40-20 at half-time. Adelaide were completely overrun in the second half 7-33 to be defeated by six points. The Lightning’s best game in November was a convincing 24 point home victory against the Sydney Flames on 20 November.

The Adelaide team after their victory against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 6 December 2024

In an article published on Adelaide Lightning’s website on 10 December the club stated “The Adelaide Lightning announces today that the club and head coach Natalie Hurst have mutually agreed to part ways effective immediately, with the search for a new head coach set to begin right away.”6 In her eighth and final game as coach of Adelaide in 2024/25 Hurst reached 50 games as a Head Coach of the Club in a road game against Geelong United on Sunday 8 December. After being an Assistant Coach of Adelaide Lightning from the 2022/23 season Matthew Clarke was the club’s caretaker Head Coach for the club’s home game against the UC Capitals on 15 December. Adelaide recorded a thrilling one point victory against the Caps, 68-67.

On 17 December Adelaide Lightning announced that Scott Ninnis had been appointed as the club’s Head Coach for the rest of the season. It was Ninnis’ first time coaching in the WNBL but he was able to draw on his experience as a Head Coach of NBL club the Adelaide 36ers. In his first game as the Lightning’s Head Coach the club had an 82-72 victory against Southside on 20 December at the Adelaide 36ers Arena. It was the third game in a row that Adelaide had a different Head Coach.

The Adelaide team after their road victory against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 22 December 2024

Led by 21 points each from Talbot and Bourne with the duo each making nine of 14 field goals at an accuracy of 64.3% Adelaide recorded a convincing 87-69 victory at home against Perth on 1 February. It was only the fourth time in 2024/25 that Adelaide have reached 80 points in a game and the Lightning rank last in scoring with 70.8 points per game. Adelaide rank third for points against with 76.4 points per game.

Borlase leads the Lightning with 14.9 points per game, ranked ninth in the WNBL and is one of five Lightning players that averages more than 10,0 points per game. Turner leads the WNBL with 12.5 rebounds per games and ranks first on the WNBL’s All-time list for rebounds per game. Adelaide captain Talbot’s wide ranging skill set has been on display ranking fifth for assists (4.5) and equal ninth for rebounds whilst making an impact defensively.

Brianna Turner taking a rebound for Adelaide Lightning in a road game against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 6 December 2024

References
1 Women’s National Basketball League, Cygnett WNBL 2024/2025 Media Guide, page 21
2 Women’s National Basketball League, Cygnett WNBL 2024/2025 Media Guide, page 21
3 https://wnbl.basketball/perth/news/wilson-thriving-in-lynx-system/
4 https://wnbl.basketball/perth/news/wilson-thriving-in-lynx-system/
5 https://wnbl.basketball/uc-capitals/news/game-preview-do-or-die-at-home-against-sydney/
6 https://wnbl.basketball/adelaide/news/adelaide-lightning-and-head-coach-natalie-hurst-mutually-agree-to-part-ways/