The University of Sydney Sparks pulled away from the visiting Frankston Lady Blues (3-5) early in the fourth quarter of this one, outscoring their opponents 26-13 in the last stanza to finish with a 22-point win. Here are our takeaways from an impressive outing which saw the young Sydney team improve to a 6-3 record:
Young Sparks Run Free
The Sparks are kind of the Milwaukee Bucks of the SEABL, with seemingly endless reserves of long, athletic players that can bother opponents with steals, blocks and deflections. They’re a raw group, but they’re exciting and play up-tempo, high energy basketball.It was a good night all round for the youth bridade; guard Maddie O’Hehir had one of her best games, collecting 10 points. Lara McSpadden, a member of the Gems squad, was particularly influential in the second half as Sydney took control, showing some nice post moves to go with her three blocks and Kimberley Hodge was again strong, registering a +19 plus/minus, the (equal) best in the game.
Sydney switched heavily on the Frankston star, who at different times was met with size and strength (Shanae Graeves), length (Kimberley Hodge) and a smaller, but mobile perimeter defender (Tupaea). The Sparks ultimately held Mijovic to 5/20 shooting and her relatively quiet night went a long way to the Sparks winning the game.
Sparks bruiser Shanae Graeves collects one of her four rebounds for the game.
Sherrie on top
While young guard Sherrie Calleia hasn’t played major minutes for Sydney yet, she certainly put together a decent case for more playing time with a here, there and everywhere cameo, collecting 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in an action-packed 8 minutes of court time.
Chelsea D’Angelo is on the rise
Already a development player with the Melbourne Boomers, the 17-year-old D’Angelo is a pacy guard who can get to top speed quickly and really attacks the hoop with vigour. She showed some nice skills at the rim, using an up and under on a couple of occasions to finish over Sydney’s talls. Her 17 points led Frankston in scoring.
Tahlia Tupaea: Swiss Army Knife
Recently drafted by WNBA team Minnesota Lynx, Tupaea has all the tools to make her a real multi-dimensional threat at this level. Her high-level vision led to some cheap points for Sydney as she constantly looked for transition points. She contributed in any number of ways, picking off passes, getting a couple of sneaky weakside blocks and successfully competing with Frankston’s giant frontline for loose rebounds. Her 21 points paced the game, but this was another performance that went way beyond scoring.
In this new column, we take a look at some of the most interesting players in the SEABL. This may include College-bound young stars, WNBL players looking for a new deal and anyone else that catches our eye. Stay tuned for future instalments, which will look at the men’s prospects and take a close look at the Centre of Excellence talent.
“Sara Blicavs on Chantel Horvat: “She’s going to be a big part of Australian basketball in years to come, you can already tell that””
Tayla Roberts (Launceston Tornadoes)
A somewhat enigmatic player at WNBL level after a hugely promising junior career, Tayla Roberts has straight up dominated the SEABL this year. After moving to the Torns, she kicked off her season with a monster 35 point, 17 rebound effort in a tight win over Frankston. Roberts is the only player to rank in the top five for both points per game (23.8, first in league) and rebounds per game (10.8, fourth in league).
Few players can deal with her size and upper body strength and she often draws double and triple teams as players can’t keep her out of good post position or off the boards. Reaping the benefits of a reliable hook shot, she has also shown promising signs of an increased shooting range, connecting on 6/9 three-pointers this season. Take it as read that WNBL teams will be paying close attention.
Tayla Roberts and Anneli Maley combine for WNBL club side Adelaide Lightning.
Anneli Maley (Dandenong Rangers)
Bound for elite eight school Oregon, Maley is currently playing for the Dandenong Rangers. Already an elite rebounder (9.2 per game, 10th in league despite playing relatively low minutes), Maley is getting to the free throw line and displaying the kind of tools that saw Adelaide coach Chris Lucas describe her as a “wonderful athlete” and that has placed her high on the wish list of a number of blue chip colleges. When she adds some scoring polish to her game, watch out.
Kimberley Hodge (University of Sydney Sparks)
Sydney have a development-based team, with a range of youthful prospects filling out the roster around a handful of Flames players. Amongst the youth brigade is centre Hodge, who is only slight, but has the kind of height and length which will attract attention from higher level scouts. With a high release and a difficult to defend baby hook which she can employ from the low post, Hodge is an intriguing prospect in a team chock full of raw youth.
Tayla Roberts (hand up) is guarded by Kimberley Hodge in a University of Sydney v Launceston SEABL clash.
Chantel Horvat (Geelong Supercats)
To call Horvat, a 6’1 guard, a prodigious talent would be underselling her rapid ascent; she holds the record for the youngest SEABL player ever, having appeared in the competition aged just 14.
Rated as a five-star recruit by American scouts who are already enraptured by scoring ability and athletic gifts, Horvat ranks as one of the brightest prospects in a hugely promising new generation of Australian basketballers.
Talking to The Evening Game earlier this week, WNBL star and Geelong teammate Sara Blicavs said she saw a lot of herself in the UCLA-bound youngster. “She’s very raw, athletic, very fast. Going to college is going to be huge for her, because she’s already got the skills, athleticism and raw talent, that’s already there. She’s going to improve on decision-making and just getting more court time against tougher players is going to be huge for her. She’s going to be a big part of Australian basketball in years to come, you can already see that”.
Chloe Bibby (Bendigo Lady Braves)
Bibby is getting to the line more than any other player in the competition (59 FTA, first in the league) and is also crashing the boards (63, fourth in the league). She poured in 20 points on 7/11 shooting in a win against the Tornadoes, racking up a +21 plus/minus. She also dominated against Sandringham, collecting 30 points and 11 rebounds. A prolific, multi-dimensional scorer at junior representative level, the 6’1 forward is headed for Division 1 school Mississippi State University.
Monique Conti (Melbourne Tigers)
The reigning WNBL rookie of the year is a real livewire player, with excellent handles, speed and ability to get to the hoop and navigate through traffic. Still only 17, her progress is ahead of schedule and she leads all players in assists per game despite international calibre point guards Aimie Clydesdale and Lauren Mansfield also playing in the league. Teams can’t exactly negate her impact by sagging off her and forcing her to shoot either; she has connected on 20 three-pointers, behind only renowned long-range shooters Carley Mijovic and Sarah Graham.
Monique Conti in WNBL action for the Melbourne Boomers.
Coming soon on The Evening Game:
– Head of WNBL Sally Phillips on the broadcast deal and the league’s bright future
– Dandenong Rangers star Sara Blicavs on her re-signing with the club and grand final revenge.
The Evening Game 