Flyers fly high to pile more pain on ‘clumsy’ Flames
Sebastian Tan |
Issie Bourne has celebrated her 25th birthday and 50th WNBL game in style, lifting the Southside Melbourne Flyers to a 93-76 victory against the Sydney Flames.
Bourne turned 25 on Friday then helped the Flyers snap a two-game losing streak on Saturday, complementing a season-high 26 points with five rebounds at the Victorian State Basketball Centre.
The 50-gamer also scored more than 20 points for a third consecutive match.
After both teams went tit for tat early, the Flyers manufactured a healthy lead and were clinical in keeping it.
All five of the hosts’ starters had double-digit points, while the Flyers also bucketed 24 free throw points and 69 per cent of their two-point shots.
It was a much improved offensive performance compared to last week, when the Flyers (3-3) were held to just 54 points against the Geelong Venom.
“That was a really important win for us to try and stay in touch with the top teams, because our next two games are Townsville and Perth away,” coach Kristi Harrower said.
“We did a lot of work this week on offence and trying to get people to understand what we’re looking for.
“The biggest thing for our team is playing with poise. If we can play with poise and share the basket, we look really good.”
The Flames (2-6) have now won just once in their past six matches. Although it was a much-improved performance after last week’s 96-56 loss to UC Capitals, the club’s biggest defeat since March, 2023.
Unique Thompson posted a career-high 22 points while go-to shooter Lauren Nicholson added 19 points.
“We do a great job of following our system when we’re at practice. But we’re just a little bit clunky and clumsy when we come to games,” coach Guy Molloy said.
“We just lose our way with nerves, because we’re trying to get ourselves out of this patch.
“Everyone’s probably guilty of over-trying, because we’re getting into games and forgetting our plays too often.”
Both teams exchanged early baskets before Bourne surged to 14 points, helping the Flyers lead by seven at quarter-time.
After Southside Melbourne went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter, buoyed by Lara McSpadden, the Flames began to chip away and trailed 51-41 at halftime.
Sydney started with a spring in their step and continued to stay close with the Flyers.
But Southside Melbourne went on an early 6-1 run in the fourth quarter before Maddi Rocci and Makenna Marisa piled on the points.
AAP
