TOUGH LOSS BUT HOPE NOT ALL GONE FOR LYNX
It wasn’t the afternoon in Melbourne the Perth Lynx were hoping for with the Southside Flyers winning 102-83 but with three games in the WNBL season remaining, hopes of reaching the playoffs are still there.
Where the game was won
The Flyers were just able to go on scoring streaks that the Lynx had no answer for. The first was to start the game with Southside racing to a 13-2 advantage and the home team ended up putting up 35 points in the opening quarter.
That turned into a 21-point lead at half-time and while the Lynx stemmed the flow in the third quarter, the Flyers blew them away with the first 11 points of the final period to end up winning by 19.
By the end of the game, the Flyers shot at 50 per cent from the field while putting up the 102 points and outrebounding the Lynx 45 to 31 including 12 at the offensive end to six.
The Lynx now hold a 10-8 record on the season with three matches remaining. Playoffs remain a distinct possibility with the Bendigo Spirit just ahead in fourth spot at 11-8 with the two teams to play at Bendat Basketball Centre this Saturday night.
Who the standout performers were
Lynx captain Sami Whitcomb ended up top-scoring for her team with 18 points and two rebounds while shooting 6/14 from the field, 2/6 from three-point range and 4/5 from the free-throw line.
Chloe Bibby backed up her career-best night on Thursday against the Adelaide Lightning with another 15 points and six rebounds on 5/9 shooting including 5/6 from the charity stripe.
Amy Atwell caught fire late in the game with three triples in the dying minutes and went 4/8 from beyond the arc for the game on the way to 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Robbi Ryan finished with 12 points for the Lynx, Lauren Scherf eight points and six rebounds, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard seven points and two boards, Tayah Burrows four points and five assists, Emma Gandini three points, two boards and two assists, and Jessie Edwards two points and two rebounds.
Carley Ernst ended up top-scoring for the Flyers with 21 points and seven rebounds with Bec Cole contributing 19 points and seven assists, Kayla Thornton 15 points and six boards, and Maddi Rocci 15 points, four rebounds and three assists.
How the game panned out
It was a rough start to the contest for the Lynx with the Flyers coming out and scoring the game’s first four points. Then after Robbi Ryan did get Perth on the board, Southside scored the next nine points and were out to a 13-2 advantage in less than three minutes.
Out of a timeout, the Lynx did score through captain Sami Whitcomb and then Chloe Bibby converted a three-point play, but the Flyers continued to have all answers and another 12-0 run including three-pointers to Monique Conti and Carley Ernst had them out to a 33-9 lead.
At least the Lynx closed the first quarter with a 7-2 run including a triple from Emma Gandini, but it was still a big hole with Southside leading 35-16 by quarter-time on the back of shooting 61 per cent from the field and hitting 5/7 from beyond the arc.
Things didn’t start any better in the second quarter with the Flyers scoring the first six points to be leading by 25 before Bibby scored for the Lynx.
From there, Perth did close the first half out on a better note to outscore the Flyers 20 points 14 after falling down 27, but that was quite the hole to be trying to dig out of.
While the Flyers were in control leading 59-38 by half-time, Ryan did have 12 points for the Lynx on shooting 8/10 at the free-throw line.
However, shooting just 38 per cent as a team and 2/12 from downtown along with giving up those 59 points on 7/14 three-point shooting to the Flyers wasn’t sustainable.
That Southside lead blew out to 27 points to start the second half before the Lynx got a three-pointer from Amy Atwell and another bucket to Whitcomb.
Whitcomb then closed out the third quarter with eight more points while Bibby added a three-point play but still by three quarter-time it was the Flyers in control leading 80-61.
The Lynx had given themselves an outside sniff, though, by winning that third quarter. That was quickly snuffed out when the Flyers scored the opening 11 points of the fourth quarter to open up a 30-point advantage.
While there were some good moments in the fourth quarter for the Lynx including three triples from Atwell, and five quick points from Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard, and Tayah Burrows and Jessie Edwards getting on the scoresheet, the Flyers still went on to win by 19.
What’s next for the Lynx
The Lynx now return home to Bendat Basketball Centre this Saturday night in the last match in front of the local fans this season up against the Bendigo Spirit.
Following that, the Lynx finish the regular season with road games to the Adelaide Lightning and UC Capitals the following Thursday and Saturday.
CYGNETT WNBL ROUND 14
PERTH LYNX 83 (Whitcomb 18, Bibby 15, Atwell 14)
SOUTHSIDE FLYERS 102 (Ernst 21, Cole 19, Thornton 15, Rocci 15)