The amazing numbers continue to be posted by our Jayco Australian Opals stars Lauren Jackson and Liz Cambage in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, with both set for post-season action.
It was an exceptional performance from Cambage on Wednesday, posting a brilliant 45 points (18-of-25 FG), 12 rebounds and 4 blocks as her Beijing team held firm in third position on the WCBA ladder, defeating Guangdong 80-68.
Jackson had her 12th double-double of the season, dropping an impressive 29 points and 12 rebounds as Heilongjiang improved to 11-8 and sixth in the WCBA standings after 19 rounds.
It was a dominant mid-week for Opals players overseas, with Marianna Tolo posting her best performance of the women’s Euroleague season in Bourges Basket’s 77-69 win over UMMC on Thursday.
Tolo dropped a game-high 22 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 steals in 30 minutes for her French team in the victory. Fellow Opals star Belinda Snell had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 37 minutes as her Polish team CCC Polkowice claimed a low-scoring 57-53 win over Avenida.
Cayla Francis continued her recent run of good form, posting 14 points and 9 rebounds in 28 minutes as her French team Nantes advanced to the quarter finals of the Eurocup competition, following a 57-57 tie in the second leg of their round of 16 clash.
In college basketball in was an all-Australian affair as Hugh Greenwood, Cameron Bairstow and the New Mexico Lobos defeated Anthony Drmic, Nick Duncan and the Boise State Broncos 84-75 on Wednesday.
It was Greenwood who would inspire the Lobos to the win over their Mountain West Conference rivals, posting a season-high 20 points on a remarkable 7-of-9 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Teammate, Bairstow was equally as efficient, dropping 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
It was another breakout performance from freshman Nick Duncan, dropping 16 points (5-of-10 3FG) and 4 rebounds in 32 minutes as she looks set to become a starter for the Broncos.
Elsewhere in college action, Peter Hooley had 17 points, 4 assists and 3 steals as Albany defeated Binghampton 66-60 on Tuesday, while Mangok Mathiang had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting for 12th ranked Louisville in the thumping 86-47 win over South Florida on Thursday.
Venky Jois continued his dominant season for Eastern Washington, posting 19 points and 9 rebounds in the high-scoring victory over Southern Utah 90-83.
Aleks Maric produced his best all-round performance of the Euroleague season, filling the stat sheet in Lokomotiv Kuban’s 80-75 win over Zalgiris Kaunas on Saturday morning. The Boomers centre made the most of his 25 minutes, posting 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Fellow Boomer and Euroleague star Joe Ingles saw his Maccabi Tel-Aviv team maintain their good start to the second phase of the competition, posting 8 points and 5 assists in the 88-67 win over Partizan Belgrade on Friday.
Sharp-shooting Ryan Broekhoff continues to impress on his return from injury, posting 11 points (4-of-6 FG) and 6 rebounds as Besiktas defeated Zagreb in Eurocup top 32 action on Thursday.
Patty Mills played big minutes down the stretch, dropping 9 points and 2 assists in 15 minutes, but couldn’t stop the San Antonio Spurs from going down to the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-105 on Thursday.
Fellow Boomers star Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 13 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors went down 102-94 to the in-form Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
Catch Bogut in action as the Warriors face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday LIVE on ESPN from 2:30pm AEDT.
In the spirit of reconciliation Basketball Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.