Spirit go down to Flyers on the road in three-point nailbiter
After going through nearly the whole first half of the season unbeaten, the Bendigo Spirit have lost their second match by just three points in as many days, going down to 2023/24 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Champions, the Southside Flyers, on the road; 88-91.
After a tight eight-point encounter on the road a month ago, it was always going to be a tight clash, particularly with key players back in for both sides from the last match – captain Kelsey Griffin for the Spirit, and Maddi Rocci for the Flyers. The match also marked Spirit star, Sami Whitcomb’s, 150th WNBL appearance.
In what was a physical match throughout, the Flyers took their chances early, dashing out to a 10-4 lead. The Spirit reeled them back in and levelled the score with four minutes to go in the first term, before the Flyers – led by Naz Hillmon (who finished with a double-double for the day, with 19 points and 10 rebounds) – edged away again, winning the quarter; 25-20.
The second term was all about the Spirit, who went on to win the quarter – 26-20 – and take a slender one-point lead into the main break. They continued this trend early in the third term too, getting out to an early six-point lead, before – as quick as a flash – Southside had not only levelled the scores, but regained the lead. From there, the term turned to disastrous for the Spirit, with the Flyers going on to dominate it, 25-11. Where the Spirit struggled to make a basket (they shot at 41.8% from the field and 25.8% from beyond the arc for the match), the Flyers seemed to make nearly all the shots they took (52.2% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc for the match), whilst also frustrating their Spirit with their defence.
It was a grind, but the Spirit chipped away at the margin in the third term, until they were down by just three points with three minutes to play. Desperation for any loose ball was evident for both teams, and with the Spirit trailing by two with just 24 seconds to go, there was a collective holding of breath when Kelly Wilson attempted a jump shot for three. She missed, and it set off a frantic chain of events with less than half a minute of the match remaining. Whitcomb was sent off after her fifth personal foul with 14 seconds to go, allowing the Flyers to pull ahead by four after Tera Reed made both of her allocated free throws. Veronica Burton then sunk a clutch three to put her team behind but just a solitary point with 9 seconds to go, before another foul on Reed – this time by Abbey Wehrung – sent Reed to the free throw line once again. Again making both her shots, the Spirit trailed by three with just seven second remaining. Burton tried her best, but couldn’t nail the second jump shot for three, and with two seconds to go, that was the game.
It was a fantastic team effort by the Flyers who had six players – Hillmon, captain Bec Cole (22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals), Rocci (18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals), Dallas Loughridge (22 points, 3 assists and a rebound), Reed (11 points, 5 rebounds and a block) and Alice Kunek (10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists) – score in double figures.
Burton (31 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists) and Marianna Tolo (23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block) were again the best for the Spirit in a losing side, as well as being the top two individual scorers on the court.
For the first time this season, Whitcomb’s individual tally was kept to single figures – despite being the third-highest individual scorer for the Spirit, and coming perilously close to another double-double – finishing with stats of 9 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal.
The Spirit will now have a short break for Christmas ahead of their next game on Friday 27 December. The Spirit will face the Adelaide Lightning on the road, with tip-off at 7.30pm AEDT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN.