Bendigo Spirit one win away from Grand Final series
Bendigo Spirit have got their post-season campaign off to a flying start, with a 76-67 win over the Sydney Flames at home.
In front of a packed Red Energy Arena home crowd, the Spirit won their first finals game in 10 years, showing their loyal community of fans why they have been the team to beat all season.
However, despite being the lower-ranked of the two teams heading into this semi-final series, the Flames were not going into the match-up letting this record bother them, jumping out to an early 13-6-point lead midway through the first term. It didn’t last long however, with the Spirit going on a 21-2 run, to hold a handsome 12-point buffer at the end of the first term.
The second term continued in the same vein as the back half of the first, with the Spirit dominating all facets of the game, winning the quarter 24-13 to take a huge 23-point lead into the main break. Impressively, the Spirit had three players – newly-crowned League MVP, Sami Whitcomb, Veronica Burton, and Marianna Tolo – in double figures by halftime, with Whitcomb already having a whopping 20 points to her name.
Meanwhile, the news went from bad to worse for the Flames, with their season MVP – Shaneice Swain – coming from the court and heading down to the rooms midway through the quarter with what appeared to be a knee complaint.
To Sydney’s credit, they didn’t let their pre-game ranking, their first-half performance, or their depleted squad affect their determination to produce a better second-half performance. Buoyed by Swain’s return to the court – even though she only lasted a minute before being forced to sit out the rest of the game – the Flames came out fighting in the second half, in a match that otherwise could’ve easily been a lay down misère.
The Flames ended up winning the second half – 39-25 – to narrow the final margin to single figures. However, the Spirit’s first-half dominance meant that the final outcome was never really in doubt, as they ran out nine-point winners.
Bendigo Spirit head coach, Kennedy Kereama, was pragmatic about the result post-game.
“It’s great to get Game 1 out of the way… That was as good a basketball as we can play in the first half, and we were just way too passive in the second half – it wasn’t quite the brand of basketball we want to be playing.
“We’ll obviously review the game and…move towards Game 2, making some adjustments, with the plan to put together four quarters of basketball,” Kereama continued.
Continuing on with her week of personal accolades, Whitcomb was named Player of the Game, notching a double-double to finish with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
She was one of four Spirit players to reach double figures for the match, along with Burton – who played close to a complete game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals – Tolo (10 points, 7 rebounds, an assist and a block), and Abbey Wehrung, with 10 points off the bench – 9 of them, coming from three-pointers.
In a game where rebounding was arguably a deciding factor – a count that the Spirit won, 41-30 – Spirit captain, Kelsey Griffin, lead this count for the game, with 12 to her name.
For the Flames, Tahlia Tupaea, was the pick of the bunch, finishing with 16 points and 2 steals, while captain, Cayla George, had 14 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and a block.
All attention will now turn towards Game 2 of the semi-final series, where the Spirit will be looking for just one more win to secure their spot in the Grand Final playoff series. From the Flames’ perspective, the big question will be if Swain gets up to face the Spirit on her home court.
Tip-off on Thursday at the Quaycentre in Sydney will be at 7pm AEDT, with all Finals games to be broadcast on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.