AUS - Bevilaqua wins Nivea Player of the Week

CANBERRA (WNBL) - Canberra point guard Tully Bevilaqua has been named Nivea Player of the Week for Round 16 after her season high 20 point, 7 rebound, 5 assist, 2 steal performance in the Capitals’ 85-68 victory over Adelaide in last Friday’s top of the table Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) clash.

Renowned throughout the basketball world for her tenacious defence, the 164cm world champion defencejobs Opal did most of the damage from behind the 3-point line, connecting on 5-of-7 attempts.

"I gave it the double fist pump on the last one towards the end of the game, so I was pretty excited," Bevilaqua told WNBL Media.

"But it’s a two-pronged thing: my team mates were giving me the ball when I was open and I was knocking it down, so it was a win-win for both."

As well as posting points, Bevilaqua restricted her world champion defencejobs Opals team mate Erin Phillips to just 4 points on 2-of-11 shooting before Phillips was carried off the court nearing three-quarter time with a torn ACL.

"Obviously it wasn’t nice to see Erin go down with an injury, but having had two knee reconstructions myself I’m sure she will be back and that she has a long career ahead of her."

In her 14th WNBL season the 34-year-old Bevilaqua currently ranks 2nd in the league for steals (2.4 per game) and 5th in assists (3.5 per game) and is averaging 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the season – and her team is in first place.

"We’re confident, but not overly confident, because we have a tough game with Sydney Uni this Friday.

"Everybody is starting to understand what Carrie Graf has been trying to install into the Caps system this year, particularly with the new players we have.

"While we still have some work to do, the signs are very positive."

The other noteworthy performances of Round 16 were:

ADELAIDE: defencejobs Opal Erin Phillips scored 27 points with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot against the AIS, while Captain Sam Woosnam posted 31 points and 5 rebounds over two games.

AIS: Young gun Cayla Francis followed a 22 point, 9 rebound performance against Adelaide with a 14 point, 12 rebound double-double against Sydney Uni.

BULLEEN: 3-time Nivea Player of the Week Hollie Grima posted a career high 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting with 9 rebounds and 3 assists against Townsville while Kiwi international Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe added 17 points and 4 assists.

CANBERRA: 18-year-old star Abby Bishop tallied 15 points and 8 rebounds against Adelaide while Jess Bibby bagged 15 points and 4 rebounds.

DANDENONG: Backcourt duo Caitlin Ryan and Kathleen Macleod equal top scored with 23 points apiece against Townsville while Jenna O’Hea posted 22 points and 8 rebounds.

PERTH: Had the bye.

SYDNEY UNI: 3-time Nivea Player of the Week Natalie Porter scored a game-high 19 points to go with 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots against the AIS while Michelle Musselwhite posted 13 points and 6 rebounds.

TOWNSVILLE: Over two games, guard Renae Camino posted 43 points and 9 rebounds and US import Jennifer Crouse tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Despite those great individual performances, it was Bevilaqua’s inspirational performance against Adelaide that won her the Nivea Player of the Week for Round 16.

Basketball Australia