Bragging rights secured as Spirit see off Flyers
Sebastian Tan |
American Megan McConnell has mixed style with substance to spearhead the Bendigo Spirit to a valuable 75-67 win against a stubborn Southside Melbourne Flyers.
McConnell worked the floor at the Victorian State Basketball Centre on Sunday night, grabbing 22 points and seven assists to seal the Spirit’s sixth consecutive WNBL win while securing Victorian bragging rights.
It was no easy task for Bendigo, as the Flyers looked to be in the box seat after exploding in the third quarter to lead by as much as 11.
But the Spirit chipped away at the margin, and with one final quarter push took advantage of the Flyers’ high foul count (18-13) to claim back-to-back victories against their rivals.
“I don’t know how many games it’s been so uneven in that foul count. Like, it’s actually ridiculous,” Southside Melbourne coach Kristi Harrower said.
“We were playing too uptight on the offensive end, and we need to try to get people to be looser.
“You don’t have time to relax in this league. You’ve actually got to do that (perform) for 40 minutes.”
With the Flyers (3-6) having needed a victory to keep in front of the congested bottom four, their loss means the fourth-placed side will stay even on wins with five other teams.
Despite the result, veteran Cayla George (18 points, 14 rebounds) collected her sixth double-double in eight games while Maddi Rocci had 18 points and six assists.
For the Spirit, Kelsey Griffin (15 points, eight rebounds) and MVP contender Izzy Borlase (20 points, eight rebounds) were typically busy as they improved the side’s record to 9-2, keeping them equal on wins with ladder leaders Townsville.
The clash came after both teams played on Friday, although Southside Melbourne travelled more than 3200km from Perth.
“Credit to our group for being able to dig deep and show up when it really mattered, especially when we were down by 11 points,” Bendigo coach Kennedy Kereama said.
“Also credit to them for making the adjustments, dealing with that level of physicality, and finding ways to score.”
Although the reigning champions have had an explosive start to the season, Kereama isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“We certainly probably won’t bear away from that (the ladder), but there’ll be a time when we certainly start thinking about those things,” he said.
Bendigo started on a 7-0 run, buoyed by McConnell, before Southside Melbourne stepped up to close the deficit to three at quarter-time.
Inaccuracy cruelled the Flyers’ chances of continuing their ascendancy, but their rigid defence stopped the Spirit from ballooning their advantage as Bendigo led 29-26 at halftime.
Southside Melbourne returned to the second half with a 16-2 spree, but Bendigo surged to keep their three-point lead.
Both teams exchanged baskets to start the final quarter before the Spirit gained the upper hand to complete the victory.
AAP
