Marino Strikes For Lightning
Tagged in: Kiwis Abroad, Tall Ferns
Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino produced a top shelf performance in Australia’s Top End in round six of the Australian Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
Marino had 23 points (7/12 FG, 4/6 3pt, 5/5 FT) to go with five assists, three rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes as the defending champion Adelaide Lightning defeated the Perth Lynx 117-83 in Darwin on Saturday night.
The 1.62m guard set the tempo early on, scoring 12 points, including a pair of treys in the first quarter as Adelaide cruised, improving to 6-1 and second behind the Canberra Capitals on the league ladder.
Through seven games, Marino ranks eighth in scoring with 16.3 points per game, sixth in assists with 4.0 dimes a contest, along with 3.3 rebounds a game. Marino also ranks fourth in three-point percentage, hitting 42.1 percent.
Tall Ferns captain Aneka Kerr and international team-mate Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe had their four-game winning streak with the Townsville Fire to start the season ended by the Capitals in the nation’s capital on Friday night.
Kerr had six points (3/4 FG) and five rebounds in 23 minutes, while McMeeken-Ruscoe missed the game, as Townsville fell to their first loss, 71-61.
Kerr produced three points (1/5 FG, 1/2 FT), nine rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes and McMeeken-Ruscoe went point-less (0/2 FG, 0/1 3pt) with a rebound in six minutes as the Fire rebounded with a 62-54 win over the Sydney Uni Flames the following night, ending round six in third at 5-1.
Former Tall Fern Adrianne Gilbert had one point (0/1 FG, 1/2 FT), three rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes for Sydney, just a week after being called into the Flames squad, becoming the sixth Kiwi in the WNBL.
Another former Fern Lisa Pardon produced identical points and shooting lines as her Bulleen Boomers completed a double-header sweep in round six.
Pardon had nine points (3/5 FG, 1/2 3pt, 2/2 FT) and two rebounds in 21 minutes in a 72-60 road win over the Bendigo Spirit on Saturday, then followed with nine points (3/5 FG, 1/2 3pt, 2/2 FT), three rebounds, an assist and steal in 27 minutes in an 81-68 home win over AIS.
Tall Ferns forward Natalie Purcell helped put a major scare up the Capitals before her Logan Thunder fell 67-65 at home on Sunday, the new club’s third straight loss. Purcell had 12 points (4/8 FG, 4/8 3pt), seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in 25 minutes.
In Europe, Tall Ferns forward Lisa Wallbutton and her Belgian club Dexia Namur cruised to two wins in the past week.
Wallbutton scored 11 points (4/8 FG, 3/4 FT) and had four rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes in Dexia’s 93-76 road win over Russia’s Spartak MR Noginsk in the women’s EuroCup on Thursday, improving to 3-0 in group L.
Dexia, who face Estonia’s BC-Star at home on Thursday in the EuroCup, also improved to 5-0 in the Belgian league with a 91-35 romp over neighbours Novia Munalux Namur in round six on Saturday.
Stateside, Tall Ferns standout Jillian Harmon recorded eight points (3/4 FG, 2/2 3pt), 12 rebounds, four assists and a steal in 23 minutes as Stanford ended their exhibition season with an 87-41 win over Vanguard University.
Kezia Kelly had two points (1/4 FG, 0/2 3pt), two assists, a rebound and steal in 14 minutes in Washington State’s 101-64 win over Showtime Basketball last week, and eight points (2/6 FG, 1/1 3pt, 3/4 FT), six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 25 minutes in the Cougars 86-81 win over Concordia College on Sunday, both exhibitions.
In Tennessee, Donna Lavea produced eight points (1/2 FG, 6/8 FT), four rebounds, a block and steal in 10 minutes in Lambuth University’s 92-41 romp over St Catherine’s College on Friday, while Hailey Purcell had five points (2/7 FG, 0/1 3pt, 1/2 FT), 11 rebounds and a steal in 38 minutes in UT-Martin’s 66-56 win over Mid-Continent University on Tuesday.
