Perth hand Southside their biggest loss of WNBL season
Jasper Bruce |
Kristi Harrower hopes Southside Melbourne are embarrassed by their 111-79 loss to Perth, which continued a run of defeats against WNBL heavyweights that threatens the Flyers’ finals hopes.
The Lynx shone in a game-defining 34-13 second quarter on Tuesday to lead by 24 points at the main break, having been up by only three after the first term.
Things only grew uglier for the Flyers as Ally Wilson (21 points, eight assists) hit five of five three-point attempts for the third term and pushed the Lynx way ahead of their hosts.
“When you see a couple go in, the ring just gets larger and larger and I feel like I could turn around and throw it in the ring and it would go in,” said Wilson, who finished with six triples from nine attempts.
Stephanie Gorman (17 points) had triggered the carnage with two back-to-back triples of her own in the second term, while Anneli Maley (25 points, 14 rebounds) had her way in the paint, equalling her season-high haul of points.
The result eclipsed a 26-point loss against Canberra to become the Flyers’ heaviest defeat of the season but things could have been worse as Perth led by as many as 44 in the second half.
Southside had already leaked more than their average for games this season – 78.1 points – with three-and-a-half minutes remaining before three-quarter time.
“It was just ugly on our behalf,” said Flyers coach Harrower.
“But it’s a game that I hope the girls take personally, in a way, and be embarrassed with the way that we played and come out here on Saturday and be a completely different team.”
Coach Ryan Petrik was especially impressed by Perth’s defensive effort as the third-placed Lynx eye a top-two finish.
“That’s probably as on-point as we’ve been defensively in six years,” he said.
Perth lost cult hero Han Xu to knee soreness in the second quarter but the towering centre was a presence after full time, taking photographs with fans.
Petrik didn’t think her injury was “too bad” at full-time but did not know specifics.
The fourth-placed Flyers finish round 15 having lost to all three of the sides above them on the ladder in the past week.
They have won only one of nine games combined against Perth, Bendigo and Townsville this season. In comparison, last-placed Geelong have two wins against those top-three sides.
Southside would have all but guaranteed a top-four finish already with just two more wins among those nine clashes.
Instead, they have the same 8-12 record as fifth-placed Canberra, the only other team still in contention for the last remaining finals spot.
Next Tuesday’s clash against the Capitals is potentially season-defining.
AAP
