HoopsFest is proof that the WNBL is ready for a bigger stage

On Thursday and Friday evenings the WNBL tipped off each day of action at 4 pm, during work hours. Even still, each game drew a crowd of 5,000, about 650 more than the record breaking attendance for a season opener just three months ago.

Basketball fans were treated to a top of the table clash on Thursday between the Perth Lynx and the Bendigo Spirit. That number of 5,000 jumped to 9,000 for the NBL game that followed, and in the final quarter of the WNBL, it would have grown to around 7,000. What’s more: the NBL game didn’t feature the local Perth Wildcats — it was played between out-of-state teams who wear purple, yellow and blue — yet a sea of red Lynx jerseys blanketed the stadium.

The contingent of Perthlings (locals of Perth) cheered in chorus on as their home town Lynx trailed Bendigo all night until Ally Wilson hit a huge three pointer late in the fourth quarter to help her team win the game.

“It’s very cool. The atmosphere here is amazing,” Wilson said to The IX Basketball. “I wish we could play here every week, there was a really good crowd. The energy and everything that we felt coming out and being on the court was incredible.”

Wilson led the charge with 26 points as all Perth starters notched double figures. The 85-81 scoreline came as a result of white hot shooting in the first quarter, especially from Bendigo, who peeled away in the second. But Perth fought back in the third and finally went on a run in the fourth, ultimately resulting in the Lynx knocking Bendigo out of top place.

Isobel Borlase led her Spirit with a 21 points and an 11-rebound double-double as the team shot 40% from deep on 35 attempts. As she explained to The IX Basketball, they were prepared for the stage. “It was a really cool atmosphere to play in front of,” Borlase said. “[There were] more people than I probably thought there was going to be, and I think it’s just nice to see that we can produce a good brand of basketball and people want to come and watch it.

“Credit to the WNBL, NBL, HoopsFest, Perth, everyone who came out to support us,” Borlase continued. “It was fun to be a part of and hopefully we get to do it again.”

Friday night’s game was a showdown between cellar dwellers the Geelong Venom and Sydney Flames. Even so, this game still drew a huge crowd. This was in part supplemented by the following game being the Perth Wildcats NBL game, as the home team is only a few games out of first place and were coming up against NBA Champion Javale McGee.

But fans still got there early for the WNBL. The crowd grew from 5,000 to 9,000 on Thursday, but Friday’s final number reached 12,507. These fans were witness to an import masterclass, with Alissa Pili and Mackenzie Holmes both notching 28 points for Geelong. Entering the game, Pili had only played 35 minutes on the season as a whole after sustaining an injury just five minutes into Geelong’s opener in October. But cometh the moment, cometh the woman, and basketball fans saw a fluid performance from Pili as Geelong decimated the Flames 105-77.

The IX Soccer is here!

In case you missed it, The IX Sports introduced a new women’s soccer-specific vertical called The IX Soccer!

Just like The IX Basketball, this will be your destination for 24/7 women’s soccer coverage, including exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes looks at your favorite teams and leagues, as well as news from around the world.

Follow the link below and bookmark the page to stay up to date on the latest headlines in women’s soccer.

After the game, Pili spoke on the experience at HoopsFest with The IX Basketball. “It was fun,” she said. “It was a cool atmosphere. I mean it’s a lot more fun when you win, so that helped. I think the whole setup and everything was really cool to be a part of.”

She also added her thoughts on how her team was able to generate solid play on the back of Holmes, who flirted with a double-double in the first quarter with 10 points and eight rebounds.

“She comes out aggressive every time. We need that from her and I really like that about her and I think we all just kind of followed, everybody started being aggressive and just playing smart basketball,” Pili said. “There was some times where I would have the ball and Kenzie would yell at me to go and take it to the basket. So, I think she kind of helped me be more aggressive and more confident in going to score … It’s been a while, so I could be a little passive at times. I think today was the first time I actually like felt like I was playing my game and being aggressive.”

Geelong showed their very best on the biggest stage, while their opponents’ season is all but over. Sydney captain Mikhaela Cann still saw the positive in playing in front such of such a large crowd. “I think it’s always a great opportunity to play in an arena like that in front of that kind of crowd,” Cann said to The IX Basketball. “It’s just a pity we couldn’t play the way that we wanted to today, but yeah, great opportunity and it’s great to be here.”

Flames head coach Renae Garlepp was also positive on the platform the WNBL was able to seize at HoopsFest. “Yeah. I mean, what an awesome event, incredible event to have all teams here playing together and the crowds have been fantastic and the whole spectacle of it all is phenomenal,” Garlepp told The IX Basketball. “I guess this isn’t how we wanted to walk away from it. So, sadly, yeah, while it’s been awesome, we’ve got a bit of a bad taste about it.”

They were one of two teams who would have been disappointed with their performance, with the other being the Adelaide Lightning. The Lightning matched up against the Southside Melbourne Flyers, who secured a must need win in the course of their season. Truthfully, Adelaide only had one half — the second — that they would have looked back on poorly. They put up single digit points in each of the third and fourth quarters.

It was a stark contrast to their first half, which showed a team that was ready for the bigger stage behind 20 points from 21-year-old point guard Dallas Loughridge. After leaving Southside in the offseason, Loughridge has embraced a starting role in Adelaide gracefully. She’s in the top 10 in the WNBL for both scoring and assists and is shooting at 37% from three.

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Loughridge told The IX Basketball about her HoopsFest experience. “I mean, it’s a really big court [and] big arena. It wasn’t too packed, but there was actually a lot more in the crowd than I was expecting. It’s always cool to be able to play in big arenas and big games like that.”

Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily

We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!

RAC Arena saw a dip in attendance on the Saturday, as the schedule included only two games, as opposed to the previous days’ three. The 1:30pm tip off time for the first game also saw the crowd tick over 2,150 — not nothing, but a big step down from the crowds on Thursday and Friday. For Southside, it was actually a drop from their average attendance at their home court (2,236).

The stage, however, was different to what the Flyers are used to at the Victorian State Basketball Centre and something center Manuela Puoch could get used to. “It’s great, I love it,” she told The IX Basketball. “I think we should have [HoopsFest] every year. But yeah, I really love it.”

During their HoopsFest bout, Southside created a game of separation in the standings between them and the Canberra Capitals, who have since closed the gap. In the second half against Adelaide, the Flyers outscored them 38-17 and were playing at their best.

“Your defense generates your offense,” Southside head coach Kristi Harrower told The IX Basketball after the game, reflecting on her team’s performance. “I felt like we did that and we could get out and run a little bit more, which is a bit of our identity. Not that we were always hitting our shots, but it just it meant that we weren’t getting bogged down in the half court and they were being physical with us. So when we get out and run and we get our shooters shooting the ball and shooting it well and we’re knocking down our threes, we become pretty tough to guard.”

The Flyers definitely got to their best in the second half of their game, while the Capitals did so in the first three quarters against the top placed Townsville Fire. By the Sunday of HoopsFest, the crowd were just as tired as the media members and the players. Although the crowds were similar in size to Saturday’s, there was less of a heartbeat from the stands.

Though there wasn’t much energy in the arena to feed off of, if you give these two teams an inch, they’ll take a mile. The Capitals took a lead into the final quarter, but as great teams do, Townsville locked in and churned out a win. They won the last quarter 15-5 on the back of some huge defensive plays, which head coach Shannon Seebohm highlighted in his postgame press conference.

“I thought we did a better job of getting into the ball,” Seebohm said. “We had better point of attack defense. Abbey [Ellis] got a couple steals. Miela [Sowah] (nee Goodchild) had one, I think, early in the quarter. We just did a better job of at point of attack. So, now they’re not getting into their stuff quite as easily and as well, we guarded ball screens a bit better.”

Alex Fowler also drew a huge foul as soon as the Fire took the lead on the back of a massive three from Courtney Woods, which compounded the team’s momentum. This turned into a flurry as the triple from Woods kickstarted Townsville’s best stretch of the game, ending the contest on an 11-0 run without allowing Canberra to hit the scoreboard in the last 5:50. The Fire also didn’t allow the Capitals to score a field goal in the entire final quarter; they had to rely on their free throw shooting, of which they shot 5-10. Townsville’s pressure was successful and crucial after a relative weak stretch in their season, winning five and losing three of their last eight games.

“It was really awesome to be a part of [HoopsFest],” Woods said after the game. “I think the week was really great and we were the last game of the of the whole thing. My parents flew here, Abbey’s parents flew here to watch us. I think there was a lot of actually a few people with Townsville shirts on. I don’t know where they came from if they’re from here, but yeah, it was really awesome to be a part of.”

Overall, HoopsFest was an undeniable success. Even fans from the northeast of Australia made it down to the southwest to cheer on their favorite teams. The energy in the arena throughout the weekend lived up to the festival segment of the nomenclature; the hoops were self-explanatory. The weekend may have ended with Sydney, Geelong and Adelaide all out of postseason contention, but a fourth place fight is alive and well between Southside and Canberra. Townsville, Bendigo and Perth remain at the top of the mountain, with the Fire reestablishing themselves at the summit. The road to the finals has been paved by HoopsFest, and the WNBL can now ride the momentum the festival generated all the way through the end of the season.

Want more women’s hockey content? Subscribe to The Ice Garden!

In case you missed it, The Ice Garden is now part of The IX Sports family!

The staff of The Ice Garden has paved the way for women’s hockey coverage from the college ranks to international competitions. Of course, that includes in-depth coverage of the PWHL too. For a limited time, free signups at The Ice Garden can sample all the work they do. Check it out, sign up now!