By Marcus Uhe
It’s a case of win or go home for the Southside Flyers in their Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) grand final series against Perth, after dropping game one in the best-of-three match series on Sunday at home.
The Flyers conceded home-court advantage in the series to the Lynx in the 101-79 loss after they were beaten in many of the key statistical categories,but it was the three-point shooting of the Lynx that was most consequential.
Perth made six in the opening quarter alone with plenty of options on the perimeter to launch long balls and the barrage continued in the second quarter. Making a further eight, during an incredible display.
The shooting went a long way to silencing the home crowd early with a 26-16 first quarter, including the first nine points of the game, and a further 34 in the second to lead 60-34 at the long break, with spectators in disbelief at the relentless approach from the Lynx.
The lead grew to 31 at one stage in the final term before Perth benched their starters to save their legs for game two.
It was an all-round masterclass from Perth, winning all the major statistical indicators on the night, including field goal, free throw and three-point shooting percentages, rebounding, assists and bench points.
Amy Atwell, the chief destroyer during the first half shooting onslaught, finished with 30 points on 9-14 shooting from beyond the arc.
Only three players scored in double figures for the Flyers, led by Lauren Jackson’s 21 points.
Game two of the grand final series is on Thursday night in Perth at 9.30pm (AEDST), with game three, if required, to be played on Sunday 17 March.
Game three of the semi final series against Melbourne on Wednesday night will be remembered as a Jackson masterclass, adding another chapter to an incredible legacy for one of the sport’s all-time greats.
The big time occasion called for a big time player, and Jackson was unstoppable for Southside, finishing with 38 points and 11 rebounds in the 93-77 result.
Five of her 11 rebounds came on the offensive end where she was simply too tall for her Melbourne counterparts, continually reaching over the Boomers to grab her teammates’ misses.
By half time she had tallied 20 points and four rebounds, and added another 10 in the third quarter to push her total to 30.
It was the third quarter where the Flyers made their charge, outsourcing Melbourne 27-17 and stretching the lead at half time from six to 16 at the final break.
A deep three from Mitchell at the buzzer put the cherry on top of the exquisite third quarter cake, and rendered the final term a formality as the Flyers ran away with the game, and the series.
