The Tasmania Jewels have won their first ever WNBL game, beating Geelong Venom 103-90 at Hobart’s MyState Bank Arena tonight.
At half-time on Thursday night, the Jewels led by 19 points after outscoring the Venom 57-38 across the first two quarters.
Geelong won the third quarter 29-23 to cut the margin to 13 points, but the teams scored 23 points each in the final term.
Darcee Garbin and Gianna Kneepkens top-scored for the Jewels with 20 points each. Kneepkens made seven of her 11 shots from the field and all four of her free throws and also pulled down eight rebounds.
Brooke Basham added 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while Stephanie Reid had 17 points and a team-high eight assists.
Keely Froling and Ella Tofaeono scored 11 points each, with Froling making seven of her 10 free throws.
For Geelong, Maddison Rocci scored a game-high 33 points, making five of her seven three-point attempts and 10 of her 12 free throws.
Indiah Bowyer added 13 points for the Venom, while Rebecca Cole and Lilly Rotunno scored 11 each.
Earlier this week, the club said it had sold more than 4,200 tickets for the season opener. Last month, the Jewels broke the WNBL’s all-time membership record before playing a game in the competition.
Before the game, head coach Claudia Brassard said the team, which is new to the league this season, had worked hard during a six-week pre-season.
WNBA player and Jewels ambassador Alanna Smith said it felt “surreal” to see the club take the court, remembering a time “when the Jewels was just an idea kind of floating around and now it’s reality”.
Her sister, development player Andie Smith, was elevated into the roster to replace import Madina Okot, who remained in the United States with her WNBA team.
The Jewels will play 11 home games this season, six at MyState Bank Arena and five at the Silverdome in Launceston. Their first game at the Silverdome is against the Sydney Flames on October 31.
