Amoore's childhood club came to Geelong, and she delivered

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WNBA point guard Georgia Amoore led the Perth Lynx to a dominant 95-76 win on the road against Geelong Venom, but it felt like home for the 25-year-old former Victorian junior basketballer.

Amoore's road to the Washington Mystics started with the Ballarat Rush in 2017, NCAA Division I's Virginia Tech in 2020, Kentucky in 2025 and the 6th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Almost 10 years later, she was back in Victoria putting up 21 points, dishing six assists, and snaring four steals in 31:11 minutes in Round 5 of WNBL27.

Juniors from her childhood club stood by her side for the Remembrance Day National Anthem before the game.

"I'm not crying. I just got hit in the eye," Amoore said.

"As emotional as I seem right now. No, I'm kidding. It's really cool to see them here. Obviously, you know, I grew up in Ballarat, not too far away from here, and that's my domestic club.

"When you're like eight years old, you don't know where basketball can take you. You're just having fun with your mates. So, honestly, that's what I was doing, and I hope they're doing the same thing."

Amoore signed with the Lynx just days after Australian Opals captain Sami Whitcomb was ruled out for the entire 2026-27 season with a knee injury.

"I'm absolutely loving it," she added.

"The girls are amazing. It's so good to be home. It's just a mental, spiritual, emotional deload. I'm loving it.

"I feel like I'm feeling better physically. Obviously, coming off an ACL tear, I'm having the best time right now, and I'm not taking it for granted."

Lynx head coach Ryan Petrik has the WNBL26 Grand Finalists in second at 4-1, inflicting the Venom's fourth loss in six games.

Perth's Big 3 did the business on both sides of the ball: Amoore's 21 came on 6-from-13 from the field (5-from-12 threes); Anneli Maley had another double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds; and WNBA forward Teonni Key had 21 points on 8-from-13 from the field, eight rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal in 25:27 minutes.

It was the first time Geelong Venom and New York Liberty backup centre Han Xu faced her former teammates. She finished with 15 points, five boards and two assists in 30:27.

"(Han) didn't really speak about it much, but I think when Han goes out to play, she just plays no matter who it's against," Venom point guard Maddy Rocci said.

"And that's what she does a great job of: when she's on the court, no matter her opposition or no matter who it is, she's always giving 100%, and she obviously is such a big target for us at the offensive end. So, she brings so much value to this team."

The Venom are still without injured veteran guard Bec Cole.

"Coley is an experienced player and she brings pride and that passion on the court as well," Rocci continued.

"We definitely do miss her out there, and hopefully she's not far away to be out back on the court because she does give us something that is a different look, and we know how aggressive she can be at the offensive end and what she can bring to the game.

"So we're definitely looking forward to getting her back."

What you need to know

• The Perth Lynx beat the Geelong Venom 95-76 at Microkeeper Arena in Geelong in Round 5 of WNBL27 on Friday, November 13, 2026, moving to 4-1 and dropping Geelong to 2-4.
• Perth won all four quarters, 21-19, 24-20, 29-17 and 21-20, and Geelong never led: the Venom drew level at 28-28 and 33-33 in the second quarter, Perth answered with seven straight points, and the Lynx led by as many as 24 at 82-58 with 8:02 left.
• Georgia Amoore and Teonni Key shared top score with 21 each, Amoore on 6-from-13, including 5-from-12 from three, and Key on 8-from-13, while Maddison Rocci led Geelong with 18 on 7-from-17.
• Perth made 13-from-38 from three to Geelong's 6-from-26, a 21-point edge from the arc in a 19-point game.
• Geelong made more two-pointers, 24 to 18, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to 13, but turned it over 15 times to 11 and made 10-from-14 at the line to Perth's 20-from-29.

Milestones

• Anneli Maley's 18 points and 11 rebounds make it four double-doubles from her four WNBL27 games.
• Perth's 95 points are their most of WNBL27, one more than the 94 they scored against the Bendigo Spirit on November 10, and the 19-point margin is their biggest win of the season.
• Perth's 38 three-point attempts are the third-most by a team in a WNBL27 game, behind Townsville's 42 against Bendigo on October 27 and Sydney's 40 against Adelaide on October 18, and their 13 makes equal their own season high, also set against Bendigo.
• Key's three blocks equal the most by a player in a WNBL27 game, a mark she also hit against Townsville on October 17.
• Han Xu's 15 points are her fewest in five WNBL27 games, after 25, 26 and 25 in her previous three.

Perth Lynx

• Amoore had 21 points, six assists and four steals on 6-from-13, including 5-from-12 from three and 4-from-6 at the line, in 31 minutes.
• Key scored 21 on 8-from-13, including 2-from-4 from three and 3-from-6 at the line, with eight rebounds, four of them offensive, and three blocks, and her plus-20 was the best on the floor.
• Maley had 18 points and 11 rebounds on 6-from-17, including 2-from-7 from three and 4-from-4 at the line, and played a game-high 33:31.
• Haley Peters had nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists, her WNBL27 best, on 4-from-9, including 1-from-4 from three, with one turnover.
• Ciabattoni scored nine on 2-from-5, including 1-from-3 from three, and 4-from-5 at the line, with six rebounds and no turnovers, and scored six of Perth's last seven points of the third quarter.
• Chloe Hodges scored a WNBL27-high seven off the bench on 2-from-4, including 1-from-3 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, with four rebounds in 16 minutes.
• Stephanie Gorman scored five off the bench on 2-from-5, including 1-from-4 from three, with a rebound, an assist and a block in 19 minutes.
• Perth shot 31-from-71 from the field, 13-from-38 from three and 20-from-29 at the line, with 43 rebounds, 20 assists, nine steals, five blocks and 11 turnovers.

Geelong Venom

• Rocci had 18 points and seven rebounds on 7-from-17, including 1-from-3 from three and 3-from-4 at the line, but turned it over five times.
• Han scored 15 on 6-from-15, including 1-from-7 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, with five rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes.
• Lilly Rotunno had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists on 4-from-6, including 1-from-1 from three, and her minus-4 was the best of Geelong's starters.
• Dakota Crichton scored nine off the bench on 4-from-6, including 1-from-2 from three, with three rebounds and two blocks.
• Sharp had eight points and 10 rebounds, four of them offensive, on 2-from-10 and 4-from-6 at the line, in a Geelong-high 33 minutes.
• Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard scored eight off the bench on 3-from-7, including 2-from-5 from three, with a Geelong-high four assists and two steals.
• Indiah Bowyer started and had two points on 1-from-6, including 0-from-4 from three, with three turnovers in 12:30.
• Geelong shot 30-from-77 from the field, 6-from-26 from three and 10-from-14 at the line, with 46 rebounds, 13 assists, three steals, two blocks and 15 turnovers.