Lauren Nicholson played out a lone hand on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough for the Adelaide Lightning.
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The former Launceston Tornadoes forward drilled a team-high 21 points in game one of the WNBL grand final series in Canberra.
But home court advantage caught up on Nicholson’s side against minor premiers in the 88-67 scoreline.
The Lightning got out to a 25-18 break at quarter-time before a fine 30-13 in the second term restored a 10-point buffer at the long interval.
Nicholson kept putting up shots in the last quarter, but the 12-point deficit blew out.
Another one-time Tornadoes star Sara Blicavs shot just seven points in Adelaide’s battling loss.
Nicholson’s former teammates Lauren Mansfield and Ellie Collins were eliminated from WNBL contention last week in the semi-finals.
The Lynx lost in straight games 95-76 in Canberra and 91-75 in Perth.
Mansfield shot just three points on the road but 12 at home.
Collins did not score in either of the games.
Nicholson will front up on Wednesday night when game two returns to Adelaide.