Sharpshooter Amy Atwell has underlined her importance to the UC Capitals' WNBL finals hopes by powering her new team to a gritty 77-68 victory over the injury-riddled Geelong Venom.
Atwell entered this season fresh off winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal for Australia, and with big ambitions to earn a WNBA contract.
On Saturday at Microkeeper Arena, the Canberra recruit sparkled, registering 25 points to help the Capitals pick up their second win of the season and continue their unbeaten streak over Geelong.
Atwell's contributions were especially important in establishing a big first-half lead, but the visitors began to falter in the second half as they struggled to sink baskets.
Point guard Meg McConnell (eight points, eight rebounds, nine assists) and forward Nyadiew Puoch (15 points, seven boards) steadied the ship though, and the Caps escaped with the win.
"What I'm really happy about is ... that we really came together and our level of cohesion and calmness really showed when it could have gone easily the other way," coach Paul Goriss said.
"I just didn't like the start of the third quarter. Our level of offensive execution was poor."
Chinese superstar Han Xu, who labelled herself the "big sister" of the Venom, led the way with 25 points, 12 rebounds and two steals.
But the side sorely missed star duo of Bec Cole (leg) and Opal Maddy Rocci (foot), while their 20 turnovers and just four three-pointers cruelled their chances of securing a win.
"We're disappointed. It was Han's birthday, so we wanted to win," coach Cheryl Chambers said.
"We've got a game on Monday, which is great. We're really excited that we don't have to sit with this loss for very long."
Geelong looked off-the-pace and were ill-disciplined in the opening quarter, which Canberra capitalised on to lead by nine points at the first break.
The Venom's woes worsened when the Caps went on a 7-0 run to start the second period, before the home team continued to cough up turnovers and the visitors ballooned their advantage to 49-36 at halftime.
Ill-discipline crept into the Capitals' game in the third quarter and it allowed Geelong to begin chipping away at the deficit.
The Venom found themselves within four points midway through the final term, but McConnell nailed a late crucial triple to put Canberra in prime position for victory.
