AUS - Beatty wins Player of the Week

CANBERRA (WNBL) - Canberra Capitals skyscraper Tracey Beatty has been awarded the Nivea Player of the Week for Round 9 of the defencejobs Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).

In the Capitals’ convincing 81-65 win over Townsville, the 202cm centre posted 26 points on 12-from-13 shooting with 7 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 2 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes on court.

27-year-old Beatty has scored 146 points at an average of 13.3 per game in 11 games this season, as well as posting 91 rebounds at 8.3 per game, 33 blocked shots at 3 per game, 10 assists and 10 steals.

"I am really stoked," Beatty said. "I never thought this would happen.

"I am a little bit surprised considering the great calibre of players in this league, but WOW."

Beatty hit an amazing 83% of her shots against Townsville, surprising herself more than anybody.

"I had a stinker at shoot around on Friday morning and thought ‘Oh my god I am just going to pass the ball in this game’, but it didn’t happen like that so it was good," Beatty said.

"There are a few things I get disappointed with myself about, but I am reasonably happy with the way I am going this season.

In her 13th WNBL season and second in Canberra, Beatty is relishing her role as the key tall player - and the extra work that accompanies it.

"Who would have ever thought that I would be playing 30-plus minutes per game in the WNBL," she said.

"I have been in the league for such a long time now and it’s the first time it has happened. It’s a good challenge for me.

"Last year we had Jenny Whittle and Lauren Jackson which restricted my minutes so this year I have been the lone tower and I am really enjoying it."

Canberra has possibly the toughest stretch ahead of the Christmas break – an away double header against Dandenong and Bulleen and then consecutive home games against fellow league leaders Adelaide and Sydney Uni. 

"Being on the top is always a good spot to be, so if we can continue with our winning ways it will leave us in good stead for after Christmas," Beatty said.

"We were pretty disappointed with our game against Adelaide last weekend.

"Adelaide and Sydney are the form teams at the moment so if we go at least 1-and-1 against them it would be fantastic."
The other noteworthy performances of Round 9 were:

ADELAIDE: defencejobs Opal Erin Phillips received game MVP honours against Sydney Uni with a 25 point, 5 rebound, 6 assist and one steal performance in her 100th WNBL game. She also shut down Flames playmaker Kristen Veal, restricting her to zero points on 0-from-7 shooting. Tracey Gahan added a 10 point, 10 rebound double-double and Lauren King posted 12 points and 6 rebounds.

AIS: Cayla Francis stepped up against Townsville with a 23 point, 12 rebound, 3 blocked shot, 1 steal and 1 assist double-double in just 26 minutes on court. Against Dandenong, Mia Newley posted 11 points and Marianna Tolo added 7 points and 7 rebounds.

BULLEEN MELBOURNE: Sharin Milner top scored for the Boomers with 13 points to go along with 4 rebounds, while Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe added 10 points and 4 rebounds, Desiree Glaubitz 10 points and defencejobs Opals Hollie Grima 9 points and 14 rebounds.
CANBERRA: Captain Kellie Abrams completely shut out Townsville playmaker Renae Camino, restricting her to just 9 points on 3-from-15 shooting with 5 rebounds. Leading point scorer for the team Jess Bibby added 17 points and 4 rebounds while Kiwi Donna Loffhagen scored 14 points and 5 rebounds.

DANDENONG: Despite injury concerns, Jenna O’Hea posted a 24 point, 8 rebound, 3 assist, 3 steal and 1 blocked shot performance against the AIS, while Larissa Cavanagh contributed 17 points and 4 rebounds and co-captain Caitlin Ryan added 11 points.

SYDNEY UNI: Over two games Natalie Porter scored 35 points and 11 rebounds, Eva Afeaki contributed 32 points and 12 rebounds and Mikaela Dombkins added 29 points and 9 rebounds. Against Perth, Sydney Uni had six Flames players – Porter, Afeaki, Kristen Veal, Dombkins, Alicia Poto and Michelle Musselwhite – post double figures.

TOWNSVILLE: Over their ACT double header weekend, Rohanee Cox posted 43 points, 20 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots, while Renae Camino had 33 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Claudia Brassard added 21 points and 8 rebounds and Jennifer Crouse contributed 15 points and 20 rebounds.

PERTH: Carly Wilson was brilliant both offensively and defensively against Bulleen, posting 23 points and 9 rebounds while restricting competition points per game leader Hollie Grima to just 9 points. Wilson scored 15 points and 4 rebounds against Sydney Uni while Crista Hays added 27 points and 18 rebounds over the two games. 

But it was Beatty’s 26 points and 7 rebounds on 12-from-13 field goal shooting against genuine title contender Townsville that saw her awarded the Nivea Player of the Week for Round 9.

Basketball Australia