Perth Lynx thrash Geelong United as Steph Gorman, Miela Sowah, Ally Wilson and Anneli Maley have big games

Perth Lynx have produced an emphatic response to their shock loss to Adelaide last week, wiping Geelong United from the floor in a 95-77 victory at the Bendat Basketball Centre. The Lynx were horrible against the Lightning but there was no doubt about their intent against United. They opened up a six-point lead at quarter time as Laeticia Amihere made a strong start and then powered clear with a 28-12 second period to lead 52-30 at half-time. From there they continued to power on to set up a mini-final against Townsville next week to decide second spot on the ladder Lynx General Manager Samantha Macpherson said her team was driven. “They came out firing in the second quarter. We know we are better than our performance in Adelaide and we knew we wanted to come out and show we are more than that. There was a sense of urgency to prove that,” she said. Perth had contributors all over the court. Just hours after signing a new WNBA contract with Golden State Valkyries, Amihere scored 14 points and had six rebounds.. Amihere was waived by Atlanta earlier in the week but handled the challenge of waiting for a new deal and then performed strongly. “We all knew she deserved to be in the WNBA and she knew she should be there too. I think what she has shown this season and what she showed tonight is that she is ready to do some really exciting stuff in the bay,” Macpherson said. Miela Sowah continued to impress with 22 points while Steph Gorman and Ally Wilson were hugely influential. Gorman had 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Wilson produced a trademark 15 points and seven asissts. Co-captains Anneli Maley and Amy Atwell also received WNBA deals during the week, signing training camp contracts with Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury respectively. Maley scored eight points and had 14 rebounds while Atwell came off the bench for nine points and two steals. “The most exciting thing for this team is that on any given night, any player can stand up,” Macpherson said. “We know that this team has a lot of players who can stand up and do extraordinary things at any time.” Alex Ciabattoni sat out the game due to an ankle injury but is expected to be fit to face Townsville.