Second quarter blues cost AIS against Adelaide

11/FEB/2008 – A poor second quarter has the cost the AIS the chance of victory against minor premiers Adelaide at the AIS Training Hall on Saturday night, with the Lightning running out eventual 93-75 winners.

The youthful AIS held a slender 25-24 quarter time lead but the wealth of Adelaide scoring options came to the fore in the second quarter and combined with a monster 11 AIS turnovers the Lightning won the term 29-14 and maintained a double figure lead for the rest of the match.

The Institute toiled hard in the second half, winning the third term 21-18 but lost the final term 22-15 to fall to the 18-point loss.

Renae Camino scored a game high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting while the super consistent Tracy Gahan bagged 20 points, 8 steals and 7 rebounds and the eternally talented Jenny Whittle contributed 19 points and 5 rebounds.

For the AIS, Nicole Hunt netted a team high 16 points to go with 7 assists but also tallied 11 turnovers.

Cayla Francis continued her outstanding season form with a 15-point, 13 rebound double-double and Nikita Martin added 13 points in support.

The AIS were their own worst enemy, committing 25 turnovers for the game, including 11 in the crucial second quarter, leaving them to think what could have been.

The win gives Adelaide a clean sweep of the Canberra double after they claimed a 92-71 win over the Capitals the night before.

The AIS' final game of the season is against Dandenong this Saturday night - the last time we will see many of the girls in the Institute colours - while Adelaide host the Sirens in the ABC TV Game of the Week on Friday night at the Dome.