Perth Lynx captain Anneli Maley confident more double-headers with Perth Wildcats will happen at RAC Arena

Perth Lynx captain Anneil Maley has raved about the opportunity to play at RAC Arena, saying double-headers between her club and Perth Wildcats are the way of the future. The Lynx played pre-season games as the curtain raiser for Thursday night’s NBL grand final re-match between Tasmania and Melbourne, then fronted up again on Friday night for their own grand final re-match against Southside Flyers before the Wildcats played South East Melbourne. The Lynx have moved three games from Bendat Basketball Centre to the bigger and upgraded HBF Stadium this year in the hope of making the largest stadium their home. But strong crowds were in attendance for both WNBL games on Thursday and Friday, as fans seized the opportunity to watch both men’s and women’s games on the same night. Maley said it was only a matter of time before double-headers become the standard. “It’s an option and it’s going to happen,” she said. “It will be awesome. This is only the beginning. We are going to explode with the rise in women’s sport. We’ve seen what happened with the Matildas and we’re seeing what’s happening in the WNBA. We are exciting to watch so this is going to happen. “People love basketball and it’s a testament to the Perth basketball community that they wanted to turn up for two games. They’re not just coming for one game, they are coming for the experience.” The Lynx lost 93-71 despite scores being level during the third quarter. Both teams exposed their younger players for large periods of the night. Maley scored 16 points and had nine rebounds from 19 minutes on court. Steph Gorman scored 14 points while recently signed Kiara Waites produced 10 points. It was a big day for the Lynx with vice-captain Amy Atwell signing to remain with Phoenix Mercury for the remainder of the season. Atwell signed multiple seven-day contracts this month to play in the final games of the regular season but now she will get to compete in the WNBL play-offs. Phoenix finished the season in seventh place and will play second placed Minnesota in the first match of a three-game series on Monday.