Avoiding losses where Lynx focus lies
As the Perth Lynx chase that elusive WNBL championship, coach Ryan Petrik knows the importance of mowing down the top placed Bendigo Spirit and avoiding adding to the loss column will be key to that in the run home.
The Lynx are now on a five-game winning streak following Sunday’s 94-76 victory at the Perth High Performance Centre against the Adelaide Lightning to remain solid in second position with an 11-3 record.
That has Perth just one loss behind the 12-2 Bendigo Spirit and two losses ahead of the third placed Townsville Fire with Petrik looking to do his best ensure the Lynx don’t add to their loss column as they chase down a regular season championship.
Having lost two of the past three Grand Final Series in the WNBL and with both those Game 3 deciders being on the road, Petrik is fully aware how important that top spot could be to earn home court advantage as they chase that ever elusive championship.
While five wins in-a-row is obviously nice, it’s not something that Petrik is too perturbed about and all he is focusing on is ensuring his team keep performing well enough to avoid suffering a fourth loss of the season.
The next challenge is a first ever away game to Geelong United on Sunday before what could very well be a clash that goes a long way to securing that top spot when they play the Spirit in Bendigo on Wednesday night.
“I haven’t even paid attention to the five wins to be honest, we’re just trying not to lose/continue to chase Bendigo,” Petrik said.
“It’s just about avoiding putting L’s in the loss column and that’s what we look at. Bendigo’s got two and we’ve got three, and we play them once more and obviously it’s a season-deciding split as well.
“If Bendigo keep winning, we just have to keep winning as well and try to chase that top spot so how many we’ve won in-a-row is kind of irrelevant.”
The first step this season for the Lynx was just to blend in the new faces which included Laeticia Amihere and Ally Wilson to the group and to get everyone on the same page as early as possible.
It’s fair to say that’s worked with Amihere now producing 16.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game while Wilson is delivering 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists, and they are doing it as the starting one and five on the team.
In between, Miela Sowah, Anneli Maley, Steph Gorman, Alex Ciabattoni and Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard are playing important roles, and now co-captain Amy Atwell is warming into it nicely after an ankle injury including five three-pointers in the second half against Adelaide.
With 11 wins to their name already and with the fourth placed team only on five, the Lynx have all but already locked in a finals appearance again so now that that’s ticked off, Petrik can turn his attention to the next goal.
That’s to try and secure a top two finish which will be a continuing battle giving Townsville isn’t far behind in third, and then hopefully trying lock away first place for home court advantage right throughout the playoffs.
“We’re trying to take it in steps and the first one is just to try and make finals to start with, and that’s the 11 or 12-win number which we’re at now with 11,” Petrik said.
“Then once you’ve got finals qualified, then it’s about if you can get top two and if you can get first.
“Clearly Townsville’s right behind us so we have to keep winning and then we’re right behind Bendigo so we need to keep winning from that side of things as well. It’s all about avoiding putting losses in the loss column and just keep on chasing.”
What Petrik most likes about this Lynx group this season is how hard they are working, and how motivated they appear to be to try and help the team breakthrough for that championship triumph.
Executing is the key to that and against the Lightning the fact they had 28 assists to be sharing the ball impressively and only having 12 turnovers while trying to play at a high tempo was an encouraging sign.
“It’s the whole squad who are all working their backside off and we’ve been really close now two times in three years,” Petrik said.
“So we’re pretty close but close doesn’t go down in the history books and we’ve got to find a way to finish it off.
“They are working their backside off to give us a chance, but we do want to move the ball a bit more and in this game that was what we liked where we had 28 assists and 12 turnovers. The 28-12 number for us is a massive key to our game.”