WNBL makes call on swift return of Perth Lynx’s Ally Wilson and Townsville Fire’s Courtney Woods
The WNBL has ticked off the swift return to the court of Perth Lynx star Ally Wilson and Townsville captain Courtney Woods following a head clash during Wednesday’s game at the Bendat Basketball Centre.
Wilson and Woods were left bleeding and shocked after colliding with 5:40 remaining in the final quarter and the Fire leading by four points.
Wilson walked from the court and went straight to the changerooms with blood dripping down her face while Woods remained on the ground being assessed for nearly 40 seconds before heading to the bench.
They both had their heads taped up and were back on court six-and-a-half minutes later as the game went down to the wire.
Head of the WNBL Christy Collier-Hill said the league had no concerns about how quickly the players were cleared to play.
“It did seem quick but we would hope that both athletes were assessed by the relevant medical staff on hand and they made the determination they were fit to play. We trust them on it.,” Collier-Hill said
“Player safety and well-being is the most important element in anything. There’s nothing for the league to address.”
Camera IconAlly Wilson was cleared to return from a head clash. Credit: James Worsfold/Getty Images
Wilson has travelled to South Australia for Perth’s game against Adelaide Lightning on Saturday night as they look to make up for the 84-80 loss to the Fire.
The match will be Perth’s third game in eight days after opening the season with a win over Southside while the Lightning haven’t played since last weekend’s loss to Bendigo.
Lynx coach Ryan Petrik said he’d been searching for ways to keep his players fresh during the first two matches despite being without co-captain Amy Atwell due to a knee injury.
“You saw it against Southside. We rotated really heavily,” Petrik said.
“Going into that fourth quarter against Southside, we were trying to keep Anneli (Maley) and Ally both below 25 minutes. Then they kept their starters on for most of the fourth, so we had to bring them back on. We kept them both under 30 which was nice.
“(Against Townsville), we played Laeticia (Amihere) a little bit more because she only played 14 in game one. We kept Ally down to 32 and Anneli down to 32. We’re doing everything we can right now when we are a pretty important soldier down.
“Everyone does it and everyone will lose a soldier at some point but to start the season that way is not as much fun as it sounds.”
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