Lightning strikes as Collier misses game winner

Written By

Peter Brown

basketball.com.au

Lightning strikes as Collier misses game winner

Isobel Borlase of the Adelaide Lightning celebrates the win with Brooke Basham of the Adelaide Lightning during the round seven WNBL match between Adelaide Lightning and Canberra Capitals at Adelaide 36ers Arena, on December 15, 2024, in Adelaide. Photo: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Collier misses three ball to win the game at the buzzer

Isobel Borlase leads Adelaide with 22 points in nail-biting victory
Charli Collier's dominant 27-point, 22-rebound effort not enough for UC Capitals
Adelaide improves to 3-6 while UC Capitals fall to 2-8

UC Capitals centre and American import Charli Collier had a chance to win it at the buzzer but her top of the key three went wide right, bouncing out as the clock expired.

It would have capped what could only be described as an OMG double-double but it wasn't to be as the Adelaide Lightning scraped past the UC Capitals 68-67 (Game Centre) in a heart-stopper at home on Sunday December 15, 2024.

Collier, 25, finished with 27 points and 22 rebounds. She went 12-from-24 from the field, including 2-from-3 from three; 3-from-4 would have won it.

Collier was the first pick in the WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings in 2021 and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team after a stellar career University of Texas.

On the other side of the ledger, Isobel Borlase was huge. The 2023 WNBL Sixth Woman of the Year and WNBL Breakout Player of the Year finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 32 minutes. Borlase went 7-from-15 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Lightning teammate Brianna Turner added 15 points and nine boards, while Japreece Dean added 12 points and four assists. Adelaide also had six blocks and forced 25 turnovers.

Capitals and Washington Mystics WNBA guard Jade Melbourne's WNBL struggles continue and they are significant. The 22-year-old Australian Opals point guard went 2-from-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from three. Melbourne is shooting 32.6% from the field this season and has taken 138 shots to score 142 points. She's shooting just 25.1% from three (16-from-63). Despite her shooting woes, Melbourne is averaging 14.2 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists.

But it's tough to win when your primary scoring option shoots just 11% from the field in a winnable game.

Isobel Borlase of the Adelaide Lightning and Indi Bowyer of the UC Capitals during the round seven WNBL match between Adelaide Lightning and Canberra Capitals at Adelaide 36ers Arena, on December 15, 2024, in Adelaide. Photo: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

It was the Lightning's first win since parting ways with head coach Nat Hurst last week. Adelaide is now 3-6 while the Caps dropped to 2-8, remaining on the bottom of the WNBL ladder after seven rounds.

What's Next

Adelaide host the 3-6 Southside Flyers (Game Centre) Friday, December 20, 2024 while the Capitals go on the road to Townsville to face the 4-4 Fire (Game Centre) on Saturday, December 21, 2024.