‘Huge win’: Flyers put out Fire in see-sawing thriller
Sebastian Tan |
The Southside Melbourne Flyers have delivered a statement performance to their WNBL rivals, edging past early-season title fancies the Townsville Fire 89-83.
In a see-sawing contest featuring 15 lead changes, Cayla George produced another game-defining performance to secure her second consecutive double-double (26 points, 12 rebounds).
The Flyers almost lost the game, giving up a nine-point lead early in the final quarter.
But George scored a triple and two free throws in the final minute to ice the game at the Victorian State Basketball Centre on Friday.
“That shot (George’s triple) was huge for us. That’s what Cayla’s done over her career,” Southside coach Kristi Harrower said.
“To beat a quality team that a lot of people think is the team to beat this season, it’s huge for us.
“It just gives us a lot of confidence.”
Point guard Maddi Rocci (22 points) said taking on the benchmark side played a big part in the side’s performance.
Townsville couldn’t maintain their unbeaten start to the season, missing 40 buckets after previous sharp-shooting performances against Canberra and Bendigo.
Courtney Woods (23 points, nine assists) and Lucy Olsen (22 points) stepped up, as in-form Abbey Ellis was reduced to just two points from five attempts.
Townsville will be sweating on the fitness of Chantel Horvat after she was substituted off with a hand injury.
Coach Shannon Seebohm admitted he also made an error after putting defensive player Alicia Froling (10 rebounds, two blocks) on the bench for much of the final quarter.
“I made a mistake not putting her back on in the last couple of minutes, because she probably had a bit more quickness to go out and guard Cayla George on the perimeter,” Seebohm said.
“Offensively, we got bogged down too much. The ball was sticky at times, and we weren’t scoring.
“Our mindset just wasn’t quite right at the start of the game, and that just flowed throughout.”
Townsville started fast, going on a 9-2 run before George and Rocci stepped up to finish the first quarter with a 19-14 lead.
The Flyers upped their defensive pressure in the second quarter, before Froling and Woods helped the Fire wrestle back a two-point lead at halftime.
Five lead changes occurred in the third quarter, but Southside took a five-point lead into the final quarter.
Although the Fire did fight back, they weren’t able to stay in front, and the game finished 89-83.
AAP
