Rd 11 – Spirit vs Lightning Match Report
In Lightning’s second game away from home in round eleven, the Bendigo Spirit host their thirteenth game for the season at the Red Energy Arena. With a rough match up ahead, both the Lightning and the Spirit were ready for battle.
FIRST HALF
Beginning the game with some great defensive rotations and a quick first stop, the Lightning created some awesome hustle plays and second chance opportunities. Working hard on both ends was Jocellyn Willoughby. Gathering multiple rebounds on the offensive end and creating effective looks for her teammates, Willoughby brought the Lightning back into the game after an early 21-point deficit. With some early subs made in the first half, Brooke Basham was up and firing right off the bench. Hitting some tough ‘fade away’ and big ‘and one’s’, Basham reduced the Spirits lead back to an 11-point ball game before half.
During Lightning’s fight for the lead, the Spirit stayed strong. Using composed offences and displaying impressive strength in the key-way, the Spirit were on a role. Creating multiple kick out opportunities and big finishes in the paint, the Spirit began to separate from Lightning’s efforts. Holding her ground was Ruth Davis, using her size and strength to her advantage. Davis made some crucial in-paint finishes, ramping up the Spirits intensity. Alex Wilson and Abbey Wehrung were crucial to Spirits success in the first half. Wilson working hard to collapse the defence for kick out three opportunities and Wehrung using up every single one of these. Hitting four from four before the halftime break.
SECOND HALF
Working hard after the break was Isobel Borlase. Finishing the game with 16-points, Borlase attacked the basket hard and finished strong. Leading to some important scores. Putting up a huge defensive effort was Brianna Turner, grabbing 11-rebounds and 6-blocks, Spirit were not getting any easy lay-ups. Working off of these defensive stops, the Lightning stuck to their strengths, pushing the ball in transition. Finishing these transition plays was Jocellyn Willoughby. Using some fancy footwork and smart offensive decisions, Willoughby finished the game with a tough double-double of 12-points and 10-rebounds. Continuing to work hard, the Lightning did not stop bringing it at the Spirit.
Executing efficiently and using patience in offence, the Spirit were playing some pretty basketball. Working with lots of ‘mid pick and roll’, Alex Wilson created some great plays for herself and teammates. So close to a double-double, Wilson finished with 12-points and 9-assits. Capitalising on Wilsons efforts to collapse the defence was Abbey Wehrung and Casey Samuels. Combining for a huge 31-points, the Spirit were hot from beyond the arch. Displaying some tough defence, the Spirit created havoc in Lightning’s offence and converted these scores effectively in the last term of the game. Finishing under the basket and gathering multiple rebounds was Ruth Davis. Finishing the game with 11-points and 9-rebounds, the Spirit were able to seal the deal. The final score being 96 – 68.
For the Lightning family, our next game is an away game against the top team, Townsville Fire. Make sure to tune in on 9NOW to see our girls play their toughest game yet. Tip-off starts at 7:00pm!