Venom miss three shots to win it, strike out

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Geelong's Jaz Shelley had a chance to win it, Mackenzie Holmes had a chance to win it, Gemma Potter had a chance to win off an offensive rebound but in the end Perth survived the Venom 77-76 in Round 3 of WNBL on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Geelong.

"We won," head coach Ryan Petrik said of the frantic fourth quarter back and forth. Perth are now 3-0 and Geelong 1-4 – missing three starters: import Alissa Pili; star guard Shyla Heal; and Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard.

"The concern going in was that Geelong were missing three really important players, so we knew they’d throw everything they had at us. From our side we were kind of unsure where it would come from exactly because obviously it’s a different rotation for them.

"There’s that Doc Rivers theory — you always want to play a team when they’re at full strength, because your team just naturally comes down a little bit when the other side’s missing so many star players.

"So we felt like we just kind of coasted for as long as we could, and then when we had a game late, all of a sudden we had to try and find second gear. I thought Geelong were brilliant, and I thought we did just enough to survive."

Geelong put itself in a position to win but Shelley's open three from the left wing was short, Holmes came up with the offensive rebound but he left handed hook rimmed out, Potter missed the put back and Perth secured the board and the win.

"We don’t care how it looks right now; we’re just trying to get Ws," Petrik added.

"If you told me in pre-season that three games in, Ally Wilson’s played 20 minutes, Steph Gorman’s played 13, and we’re 3-0 — we’d take that every day. It’s not pretty or convincing, but it’s 3-0. I reckon we’re at about 20–25 percent [of potential], but again — 3-0, we’ll take it."

Brianna Turner's 16-rebound performance and Ally Wilson's efficient 14 points helped Perth withstand Holmes' 22-point double-double.

"Disappointing," Venom head coach Chris Lucas said.

"Again, I’m pleased with the effort — I can’t ever question that with this group. Probably similar to the other night: against a top team, we took it up to them, but just had a couple of lapses. I’m not sure I could ask for much more.

"Those final shots were open looks — we didn’t necessarily need a three, but if Jaz Shelley’s open, we want her taking that shot.

"We got three good looks, they just didn’t drop. It’s disappointing — I thought we really deserved to win that game, but we just weren’t quite good enough on the night."

Lynx guard lex Ciabattoni hit a huge wide open three from the top of the key with 1:55 left on an assist from Anneli Maley and 39 seconds returned the favour on a dish to Maley for an open lay-up when Geelong doubled her on a baseline drive to put Perth up 77-74.

Key Details

• Result: Perth Lynx 77 def. Geelong Venom 76
• When: 1st November 2025
• Where: Geelong Arena, Geelong
• Standings

By the Numbers

• Brianna Turner (Perth Lynx) starred with 13 points, 16 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks in 34 minutes.
• Mackenzie Holmes (Geelong Venom) scored 22 points, and had 16 rebounds, three assists, two blocks in 37 minutes.

4th Quarter Scoring Sequence – Geelong Venom vs Perth Lynx (19–19)

• 9:06 – Perth Yemiyah Morris 2pt layup + free throw made (3-point play) – Perth 60–57 Geelong
• 8:32 – Perth Yemiyah Morris 2pt hook shot made – Perth 63–57
• 8:18 – Geelong Elissa Brett 2pt pull-up jumper made (assist Alex Sharp) – Perth 63–59
• 7:58 – Perth Brianna Turner 2pt layup made – Perth 65–59
• 7:14 – Geelong Elissa Brett two free throws made – Perth 65–61
• 6:24 – Geelong Mackenzie Holmes 2pt layup made (assist Jazmin Shelley) – Perth 65–63
• 5:45 – Geelong Gemma Potter 3pt jumper made (assist Elissa Brett) – Geelong 66–65
• 4:48 – Geelong Jazmin Shelley two free throws made – Geelong 68–65
• 3:58 – Geelong Jazmin Shelley 2pt reverse layup made – Geelong 70–65
• 3:52 – Perth Amy Atwell 2pt layup made (assist Ally Wilson) – Geelong 70–67
• 3:08 – Perth Amy Atwell 3pt pull-up jumper made – Tied 70–70
• 2:49 – Geelong Mackenzie Holmes two free throws made – Geelong 72–70
• 2:07 – Geelong Jazmin Shelley 2pt layup made – Geelong 74–70
• 1:55 – Perth Alex Ciabattoni 3pt jumper made (assist Anneli Maley) – Perth 75–74
• 1:14 – Perth Anneli Maley 2pt layup made (assist Alex Ciabattoni) – Perth 77–74
• 0:41 – Geelong Jazmin Shelley 2pt floating jumper made – Perth 77–76 (Final)

What Happened

Perth Lynx established an early advantage in the opening quarter, leading 20-15. Geelong responded in the second period, outscoring Perth 22-20, but still trailed 40-37 at halftime. The third quarter saw Perth maintain their slim lead, entering the final period up 58-57, before both teams scored 19 points in a tightly contested fourth quarter.

The game was a back-and-forth battle throughout, featuring 15 lead changes as neither team could establish complete control. Perth's largest lead reached 11 points, while Geelong's biggest advantage was just three points. Perth held the lead for 32:44 of game time compared to Geelong's 05:23.

Ally Wilson provided crucial offensive support for Perth, scoring 14 points on remarkably efficient 5-from-6 shooting from two-point range. Yemiyah Morris also contributed significantly off the bench with 13 points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes of action, shooting an outstanding 6-from-7 from the field.

For Geelong, Mackenzie Holmes was dominant inside, collecting 22 points and 16 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Alex Sharp also delivered a strong all-around performance with 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and four steals, demonstrating her defensive impact.

Perth's victory came despite struggling from three-point range, making just 3-from-18 (16.67%). However, they shot more efficiently from two-point range (30-from-53, 56.6%) compared to Geelong's 27-from-50 (54%). Geelong's superior rebounding (48-43) wasn't enough to overcome Perth's balanced scoring attack, with four players reaching double figures compared to Geelong's three.