Australian Opals star Sami Whitcomb has fired again as Bendigo Spirit extended its winning start to the WNBL season with a 95-78 victory over newcomers Geelong United.
Whitcomb produced a game-high 28 points on 62 per cent shooting from the field – including 5-of-9 from long range – in her side’s home win on Sunday at Red Energy Arena.
The veteran guard added seven rebounds, five steals and two assists, continuing her hot start to the new season.
Casey Samuels (15 points, six rebounds) and Marianna Tolo (10 points, seven rebounds) were also important for the Spirit, who dominated the opening period and led throughout the contest.
Captain Keely Froling (26 points, 13 rebounds) stood out for Geelong, which refused to lie down and won both the third and fourth periods.
Bendigo’s huge lead was cut to 12 points midway through the final quarter before they steadied late in the game.
“We’re building and we feel really good together,” Whitcomb told Nine post-game.
“We just have a lot of really hard-working, unselfish players. A lot of times that turns into getting good shots and we have a lot of really great shooters, so when we make them it’s pretty good.
“Obviously we’d love to not have the lapses that we had in the second half, especially in that fourth quarter, but they’re all things we can work on.”
Geelong posted the first win of its debut season in round 2, toppling the reigning champion Southside Flyers 90-87 at home.
Elissa Brett (15 points) put United in front with 16 seconds left before she and Haley Jones (19 points) sealed the result from the foul line.
Froling (18 points) was also important against a Flyers outfit led by import forward Naz Hillmon (27 points), Alice Kunek (25) and Bec Cole (20).
Geelong United’s next game is against Adelaide Lightning at The Arena, North Geelong on Saturday November 16 starting at 6pm.
