Lynx go down to Flames in Sydney
It was always going to be a tough hit out on the road for the Perth Lynx less than 48 hours after their WNBL top-of-the-table clash at home and it proved the case with the Sydney Flames scoring the 86-75 victory.
The Lynx suffered just their second loss of the season at home on Thursday night to the undefeated Bendigo Spirit before the quick turnaround to taking on the Flames on Saturday at Quaycentre.
Perth had won seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams, but on this occasion Sydney prevailed by 11 points with the Lynx now sitting at 6-3 on the season.
Where the game was won
The Lynx were playing catch up for the majority of the game after the Flames went on a 10-0 scoring run in the first quarter, but the visitors did keep things close most of the way.
It was still just a four-point ball game with seven minutes on the clock but Sydney put the game to bed by scoring the next nine points from there on the way to the eventual 11-point victory on their home floor.
It was a second tough offensive outing for the Lynx this round in the space of less than 48 hours as they finished up shooting 34 per cent from the field and going 14/44 at 31 per cent from three-point range.
Of concern was the rough free-throw shooting of 7/20 as a team including Anneli Maley, Laeticia Amihere and Ally Wilson combining for 2/11.
However, the Lynx stayed in the contest with 20 offensive rebounds for 24 second chance points but ultimately the Flames capitalised on Perth’s 22 turnovers for 32 points and did enough to get the win on their home court.
Who the standout performers were
Miela Sowah top-scored once again for the Lynx with 13 points to go with four rebounds despite shooting just 4/15 from the floor. She did make 3/8 from long-range but also had seven turnovers for the evening.
Steph Gorman added 12 points and five rebounds on 4/9 three-point shooting in her second start of the round with Alex Ciabattoni getting married to long-time partner James this weekend.
Ally Wilson also ended up with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, Anneli Maley 11 points and 10 boards, Laeticia Amihere 10 points and five rebounds, Kiara Waite five points and five boards, and Teige Morrell two points and four rebounds.
Co-captain Amy Atwell was playing her second game of the season and had nine points, three steals and two rebounds in encouraging signs in her 18 minutes before rolling her ankle late.
Cayla George finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds in the win for the Flames on the same evening she reached 5000 points in the WNBL to become the fourth woman ever to do so.
Shaniece Swain also had 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
How the game panned out
Back-to-back three-pointers to Ally Wilson and Laeticia Amihere helped the Lynx to an early 8-5 lead before Miela Sowah also opened her account to keep her strong form going to give Perth the 10-5 advantage.
Sydney responded with the next 10 points before a steadying triple for the Lynx to Steph Gorman and even with a three just on quarter-time from Sowah, it was the Flames leading 23-20.
Sydney then scored the first seven points of the second frame to open up the game’s first double-figure lead but the Lynx got back into the contest starting with a bucket to Anneli Maley and then a first three of the season to fellow co-captain Amy Atwell.
Rookie Kiara Waite then hit a three too for her first road points in the WNBL and even with triples before half-time for the Lynx to Wilson, Gorman and Wilson again, the Flames were still leading 46-41 going into the break.
When Atwell completed a three-point play and scored on another jumper with three minutes to go in the third quarter, the Lynx were back level with the Flames but Sydney still managed to pull away again to lead 64-58 by three quarter-time.
Perth were back within five points early in the final term with another three-pointer from Gorman before Maley also landed one from deep to make it a four-point ball game.
However, from there the Flames turned the tide to score the next nine points to open up a 13-point lead, and from there end up scoring the 11-point victory.
What’s next for the Lynx
The Lynx now return to Bendat Basketball Centre this Thursday night to play host to the UC Capitals before a rematch with the Bendigo Spirit from Thursday the following Thursday ahead of the HBF Stadium match on Monday December 23 with Geelong United.
CYGNETT WNBL SEASON 2024/25
PERTH LYNX 75 (Sowah 13, Gorman 12, Wilson 12)
SYDNEY FLAMES 86 (George 28, Swain 20, Pitman 13, Clarke 13)