Wilson inspires Lynx to snap Spirit winning run
Ally Wilson lit it up in the second half to inspire the Perth Lynx to the road victory on Thursday night as they beat the Bendigo Spirit 71-68 at Red Energy Arena to hand the home team their first loss of the WNBL season.
Wilson led the charge on her former court for the Lynx in the second half as they managed to win the second low-scoring, defensive grind between the two teams in the space of two weeks.
In the end the Lynx finished the better to secure the three-point win and hand the Spirit their first loss of the season following nine straight wins while improving to an 8-3 record themselves.
Where the game was won
After missing all 11 of their three-point attempts in the first half, the Lynx went 8/21 from downtown in the second half which would prove instrumental in the final result with Ally Wilson making 4/7 of those.
The Lynx ended up outscoring the Spirit 37 points to 30 in the second half including 20 points to 16 in the fourth quarter, and closed the game out on an 8-2 run to secure the win and hand the Spirit a first loss of the season.
While the Spirit were able to slow the game down and play at the pace they are more suited to, the Lynx adjusted well to grind out the win with 51 rebounds to 46 including 16 at the offensive end for 10 second chance points.
The Lynx also scored 16 points from the X turnovers from the Spirit while having 24 bench points to 13 and despite shooting just 32 per cent themselves, did well to limit Bendigo to 39 per cent shooting for the game.
Who the standout performers were
Ally Wilson enjoyed her return to her former home court as an opposition player finishing the evening with 20 points, five rebounds and two assists with 7/15 shooting from the field, 4/8 from three-point land and 2/4 at the foul line.
Anneli Maley also had a big double-double consisting of 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks with Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard delivering 12 points and five rebounds, and Amy Atwell 11 points on the floor she plays on in the NBL1 South for the Braves.
Laeticia Amihere added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals as well in the win for Perth with Miela Sowah ending up with four points, two rebounds and two steals, and the recently married Alex Ciabattoni one point, two rebounds and two assists.
Marianna Tolo finished with 16 points, four blocks and three rebounds for Bendigo with Veronica Burton contributing 14 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and Sami Whitcomb 14 points and five boards.
How the game panned out
After Bendigo were leading 9-8, Perth were able to score the next seven points including the first five of those coming at the foul line from Amy Atwell, Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard and Alex Ciabattoni.
Atwell then scored to complete the 7-0 run and from there the Lynx took the 22-16 lead into the quarter-time break despite shooting just 7/21 from the field and going 0/5 from downtown, but they did go 8/11 at the charity stripe.
The Lynx were still leading by four midway through the second quarter before Bendigo went on a 7-0 scoring run of their own to grab the lead and then to still be leading 38-34 at the half-time break thanks to a Sami Whitcomb three ball just before the interval.
Perth had shot 0/11 from deep in the first half but that immediately changed to open the third quarter thanks to Ally Wilson. Clinch Hoycard and Wilson again also hit from behind the arc soon after and the Lynx had opened the half on a 10-2 run to retake the lead.
Despite Atwell also knocking down a three in the period, the Spirit went on a 12-3 run of their that including three-pointers from Whitcomb and Abbey Wehrung and that saw the undefeated home team clinging to the 52-51 lead going into the fourth.
The momentum swings continued with Bendigo starting the fourth frame with a 7-1 run but the Lynx were starting to feel good from long-range and Clinch Hoycard, Wilson, Anneli Maley and Wilson all hit massive shots.
Wilson and Hoycard then scored inside the arc and the Lynx were leading by four with just under minutes to play before Wilson was able to complete the deal making a free-throw and with Perth maintaining possession with an unsportsmanlike call against the Spirit in the last two seconds.
What’s next for the Lynx
The Lynx now return home on a high to play host to Geelong United on Monday night in a Christmas week match up at HBF Stadium.
It will be the first time the two teams have ever met in the WNBL and will have a special feel being held at the redeveloped new venue for the Lynx.
CYGNETT WNBL SEASON 2024/25
PERTH LYNX 71 (Wilson 20, Maley 12, Clinch Hoycard 12)
BENDIGO SPIRIT 68 (Tolo 16, Whitcomb 14, Burton 14)