Lynx dominate second half to beat Flames
Perth Lynx dominated the second half outscoring the Sydney Flames 41 points to 24 on the way to the eventual 84-78 home victory with Laeticia Amihere outstanding again with 28 points.
It was WNBL Indigenous Round at Bendat Basketball Centre but it was the Flames who came out firing and opened up a 54-43 half-time advantage despite having only scored 54 for the game in Adelaide on Wednesday.
However, the Lynx took charge after the break including starting the second half on a 15-0 run on the way to the eventual six-point victory to improve to a 4-1 record five games into the new season.
Where the game was won
The Lynx had returned home after back-to-back road wins and had nine days to freshen up, but the Flames arrived looking to hit back from Wednesday’s loss in Adelaide and put together an impressive first half.
Sydney put up 54 points in the first half to lead by 11 on the back of shooting 56 per cent from the field to 43 from the Lynx including scoring 13 second chance points and with Mikaela Ruef almost having a triple-double already with 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The game completely changed in the second half with the Lynx coming out and scoring the opening 15 points to set the tone before outscoring the Flames 41 points to 24 in the final 20 minutes.
By the end of the night, the Lynx ended up shooting 46 per cent from the field to 39 from the Flames and scored the victory despite going just 7/24 from three-point range, and with Sydney winning the rebound battle 50 to 37 including 18 to 10 at the offensive end.
Who the standout performers were
Laeticia Amihere continues to fit into the WNBL impressively and delivered another 28 points on the back of shooting 11/18 from the field along with four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Ally Wilson celebrated Indigenous Round by producing 19 points and three assists in the win for the Lynx with Steph Gorman knocking down 4/6 from three-point land for 12 points and nine rebounds.
Co-captain Anneli Maley also had 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots with Miela Sowah adding seven points, four assists and three boards, Alex Ciabattoni five points and three steals, and Teige Morrell two points, a rebound and a steal.
Shaneice Swain finished with 26 points with eight three-pointers for Sydney with Cayla George adding 19 points and 16 rebounds, Carla Pitman 11 points and three boards, and Mikaela Ruef 10 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.
How the game panned out
After Sydney scored the first four points, Perth got on the board with an Anneli Maley three-pointer before Alex Ciabattoni also scored going to the rack.
The Flames soon went on an 8-0 run with Cayla George topping it off on her way to 11 first quarter points, but Ally Wilson scored the Lynx’s last seven points of the term to at least limit Sydney’s advantage to 29-19.
Steph Gorman knocked down a three early in the second period for the Lynx and then the home side found a way for Laeticia Amihere to get to her spot in the post and take full advantage.
The Canadian Olympian made five consecutive baskets for the Lynx including converting a three-point play before Wilson pulled off back-to-back layups in transition off steals to bring the margin back to just five heading to half-time.
However, in the space of less than a minute out of a timeout the Flames scored the next seven points to be back up by 12 and then to still be leading 54-43 by the half-time interval.
The Lynx came out inspired to start the second half scoring the first seven points with another five of those courtesy of Amihere to cut the Flames lead to four and having not scored when Guy Molloy called a timeout after more than three minutes.
It didn’t stop the Lynx’s momentum, though, and they came out scoring the next eight points from the timeout to make it a 15-0 run to open the half and to grab a lead for the first time since the opening minutes.
The stage was set for a big finish with scores tied at 64-64 by three quarter-time before Gorman hit two three-pointers to start the final period and then Maley hit a mid-range jumper to push the Lynx lead out to seven with 6:38 on the clock.
The Lynx continued to pull away the rest of the way with Amihere continuing to finish strongly inside on her way to 28 points before Wilson pushed the lead out to seven, and Perth went on to score the six-point victory.
What’s next for the Lynx
The Lynx remain at home now to take on the Townsville Fire on Wednesday night back at Bendat Basketball Centre with the two teams having already played at the same venue three weeks ago, and having met one another in the semi finals of the past two WNBL seasons.
CYGNETT WNBL SEASON 2024/25
PERTH LYNX 84 (Amihere 28, Wilson 19, Gorman 12)
SYDNEY FLAMES 78 (Swain 26, George 19, Pitman 11)