Hoop Shots

I really had no idea what to expect from either Logan or West Coast prior to this match.

The Waves came antagonizingly close to defeating the Thunder two weeks earlier (on TV, no less) and Logan continue to be the most Jekyll and Hyde team in the competition.

This encounter was a different story; with the Thunder dominating the Waves from the get go. West Coast had no answer for Logan centre Cayla Francis, and with solid contributions from guard Sarah Graham and Renae Camino, the home side simply lacked the fire power to keep up with the visitors.

Click on the link below to see my photos from the game.

WNBL game photos: Logan Thunder @ West Coast Waves

I was really looking forward to the chance to see the current WNBL champions, Bulleen, and league MVP, Liz Cambage, in action at the WA Basketball Centre.

The Boomers have been an entertaining team to watch during the past two seasons, and despite some big off season player turn over, there was still a lot to look forward to with Samantha Richards, Jo Leedham, Rachel Jarry, Alice Kunek and Cambage in action.

After a slow start to the season, it was great to see Liz Cambage come out and have a solid performance (33 points and 14 rebounds) and shake off the effects of a WNBA season with the Tulsa Shock (and their lack of training/conditioning work).

As for the game, it was an interesting (and ugly) encounter. The refs seemed to have an agenda of their own which took over the game. In the end, the Boomers were able to come away with a 90-82 win and the joy of knowing they won’t have to encounter the Perth referees again until next season.

To see my photos from the game, click on the link below.

WNBL game photos: Bulleen Boomers @ West Coast Waves

With the Townsville Fire coming into town undefeated, West Coast had a big challenge in front of them in front of them (and the ABC TV cameras).

Waves coach David Herbert made the bold decision to sit out Zoe Harper, Cortney Hargreaves, Jasmine Hooper and Michelle Joy for the game, due to disciplinary reasons, which saw the Waves line up without bulk of their (limited) size.

After a fast start from Townsville, it looked like the game would be a blow out, but to their credit the Waves put on a strong second quarter run to hang around and make a game of it. Say what you will about West Coast, but they sure do put on a good performance for the TV cameras.

The experience and talent of the Fire saw the visitors over run the home side to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

To check out my photos from the game, click on the link below:

WNBL game photos: Townsville Fire @ West Coast Waves

It’s fair to say that after a tough loss at home on Friday, the Rangers let out their frustration on the Waves during this game.

Dandenong flew out to a 10-0 lead (aided by West Coast’s inability to hit a field goal for the first 6:30 minutes of the match) and never looked back as they took out a comfortable 90-65 win over the Waves.

Although the game was hard to watch at times, I was really happy with the shots I was able to get. I guess photos can make a game look prettier than it actually was.

Anyways, you can see my game photos by clicking on the link below.

WNBL game photos: Dandenong Rangers @ West Coast Waves

It was great to be back behind the camera for the start of the new WNBL season.

While I’ve professed my love for the WA Basketball Centre many times, I have to admit that I’m not a fan of taking photos there during the day. There are quite a few panels of windows around the show court, which annoyingly make it hard to shoot from some of my usual vantage points.

But that’s enough about that.

Last season, the Waves played their home match against the Flames in Alice Springs, so this was my first chance in a while to see Sydney Uni play live and also to photograph the team at the WA Basketball Centre.

Spearheaded by Olympians Belinda Snell, Alicia Poto and stand out import Amy Denson, it was always going to be a big ask for West Coast to get up for a first up win at home. To their credit, West Coast didn’t get blown out the way many would have predicted, going down 55-71.

To check out my photos from the game, click on the link below.

WNBL game photos: Sydney Uni Flames @ West Coast Waves

With action in the WNBL and NBL set to tip off on Friday, it was time for me to put on my writing hat as I cover Australian basketball for Sports Page Magazine for another season.

First up, it was my preview of the Women’s National Basketball League.

After an unprecedented amount of off season player movements, it was hard to predict who would finish where given the unknown of how the new look teams would come together.

While my predictions may or may not be wrong, I’m looking forward to what should be a great season in the WNBL.

To read my article, click on the link below.

Sports Page Magazine: 2011/12 WNBL season preview

Again, it’s been a long time between blog posts. There has been a lot going on recently, including a 10 day road trip to Sydney, which has meant the blog has been neglected.

Since my last post, I have shot four basketball games, the first being the WNBL match between Dandenong Rangers and the West Coast Waves.

This was my last WNBL game for the season in Perth, and my last chance to see/photograph Perth basketball legend Tully Bevilaqua. I was happy to get some good shots of Tully, as well her match up with national squad member Kathleen Macleod.

For those interested, there is a link to my match photos below.

WNBL game photos: Dandenong Rangers @ West Coast Waves.

Once again, it feels like there has been a long time between WNBL games in Perth.

After a three week break, the West Coast Waves are at home on Sunday and will take on the Dandenong Rangers.

When these teams met in round one, the Rangers took out an easy but unconvincing win.

I know that’s an odd statement to make, but given the difference in talent on the Dandenong and West Coast rosters it’s one I feel I can make.

After the game, I remember commenting to a friend that it will be interesting to see the return bout in February to see whether the Rangers, after their big off season shopping spree, would have become world beaters or a flop.

In the opening rounds of the season, it looked like Dandenong would dominate, but now, as the team sits outside of the WNBL’s top five, it appears that the latter is the case.

On the flip side, this season has been one of significant improvement for the Waves.

Although the team will be disappointed with the amount of close losses they’ve had, (which would have had them firmly in the play off race), their six wins for the season (to date) signals club’s best performance since the 2002/03 WNBL season when the team, then known as the Perth Lynx, finished the season with a 6-15 record.

Looking at this game, the match up which stands out to me most is that between point guards Tully Bevilaqua and Kathleen Macleod.

After missing out on a place with the Opals at the 2010 World Championships, Macleod has been in stellar form for the Rangers.

Bevilaqua too has been a stand out for the Waves, with her signature hard nosed defence and vastly increased scoring output this season.

While both guards do a good job of getting the ball to their team mates, there’s no doubting Bevilaqua has the edge defensively in this match up.

Seeing as this will be my last Waves home game of the season (I’ll be in Sydney when they host the AIS on 11 February), I’m hoping for a good match and, as always, some good photos ops.

Speaking of photo ops, in case you missed them last time around, below is a link to my game photos from the Waves and Rangers game from round one.

Game photos: West Coast Waves v Dandenong Rangers

Ok, so there was no dunk from Liz Cambage on Friday night, but she still put on a fine performance for Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve (and my camera) against the West Coast Waves, finishing the game with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Going into this game, I thought it would be an easy win for Bulleen but West Coast did a great job defensively and were able to hang with the Boomers for a large part of the match.

As expected, Bulleen were too big, athletic and experienced for the Waves when it mattered, and came away with a 14 point win after some clutch shooting down the stretch.

One play from Bulleen that continues to impress me is Jenna O’Hea. In this game, as she often does for the Boomers, she hit the tough shots down the stretch when the game is on the line.

O’Hea is a smart player that does a lot of things well on court and, for mine, she did a much better job of handling the Waves back court pressure than Boomers’ starting point guard Sharin Milner, who surprisingly kept trying to dribble her way out of a press with Tully Bevilaqua in her face.

For the Waves, it has been good to see an increasing number of role players step up each week. Tully and Melissa Marsh will get their numbers each week, but it’s been great to see the young bigs in Zoe Harper and Sam Norwood stepping up and making solid contributions.

Game photos: Bulleen Boomers @ West Coast Waves

It’s been a long time between games, and blog posts, but tonight I’ll finally be back behind my camera and shooting basketball for the first time in 2011.

Tonight sees the WNBL match between the West Coast Waves and Bulleen Boomers at the WA State Basketball Centre. The Boomers have been one of the stand out teams in the competition, and are currently on a 12 game winning streak. Incidentally, their last loss was against the Waves, in Perth, back in round two.

Bulleen will be a different prospect this time around. In October, they were without Opals player Jenna O’Hea and starting point guard Sharin Milner and had had a disruptive preseason with players away for the World Championships.

Since their loss to the Waves, Bulleen has been a very different prospect, and with the return of O’Hea and Milner, the side has a huge amount of depth and talent which will trouble West Coast.

The will Waves come into the match on a high, having defeated the Logan Thunder, in Logan, last weekend. A solid result considering Logan handed the Waves a 25 point loss, in Perth, prior to the WNBL’s Christmas break.

As a photographer, and hoop junkie, I’m looking forward to seeing Australian Opals and Bulleen centre Liz Cambage play (and suspect it will be a long night for the Waves bigs).

There’s been a lot of talk about Cambage and next year’s WNBA draft doing the rounds since the World Championships, and with rumours suggesting that Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve (the holder of the WNBA’s #1 draft pick for 2011) will be at the game to see Cambage play, Liz will no doubt be in the mood to put on a show.

And hey, if she tries to throw one down, I’ll be ready and waiting with my camera in tow!