Final-term fade costs Venom in home loss to Adelaide

A HORROR final term has seen the Geelong Venom give up a strong lead and go down to Adelaide in their penultimate WNBL home game of the season.

The Venom led by as much as 13 points and were outscored in the last quarter by 14 points to lose 78-85 at the Geelong Arena last weekend.

As part of the WNBL’s Pride Round, Geelong sported rainbow-tinged jerseys to celebrate and battled with the Lightning in a tight first half.

An impressive 32-point second quarter saw them claw back from an early deficit to take a two-point lead into the main break.

The Venom extended their lead in the third term, with two Shyla Heal free-throws putting them up a match-high 13 points with four minutes remaining in the quarter.

However, the visitors were up for the challenge and combined a late scoring run with tough defence to overcome the lead and send Geelong back to the bottom of the ladder.

Mackenzie Holmes led the way for the home side again, dropping 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jaz Shelley added 21 points and four steals.

For Adelaide, Sania Feagin had 28 points and nine rebounds.

Geelong now have just two matches remaining for the season as they look to avoid a wooden spoon finish.

They will take on Bendigo in their final home clash today (Friday, January 30) in TAC’s Road Safety Round, before concluding their season on Sunday against Sydney at the Quaycentre.