Flames lose Quaycentre opener to red-hot Spirit
The Sydney Flames have lost to the Bendigo Spirit 90-71 during their first match at Quaycentre for WNBL25.
Match summary
The red-hot Sami Whitcomb scored the match’s first basket, a triple from downtown, which was cancelled out quickly by fellow Opal Cayla George. Despite a nice backdoor cut by Celeste Taylor, the hosts fell behind 15-5 after a barrage of Whitcomb threes. Off the bench, Shaneice Sawin made an impact straight away, scoring a quickfire eight. That explosion and an and-one by Sherrie Calleia reduced the margin to just four. But that was short-lived, as Whitcomb nailed another shot from downtown – as the visitors led 29-18 at the first break.
View this post on Instagram
That momentum for Bendigo carried across into the second, with them starting the term on a 10-2 run. Scores by Mikaela Ruef and Yemiyah Morris stopped the run by Bendigo. Again, that was short-lived, as Kennedy Kereama’s side extended their lead to 19 with just over two to play in the term. Despite a late triple by Swain, Bendigo led by 20 at half-time.
Despite the best efforts of Morris on both ends, the Spirit continued their charge in the third, powered by Marianna Tolo, as the lead grew to 24. Buckets from Celeste Taylor and defensive plays by Carla Pitman closed that to 22 at the final change.
PURCHASE YOUR FLAMES QUAYCENTRE TICKETS HERE
Efforts from Morris and Ruef saw Sydney score the first five points of the fourth. This was followed by crafty work by captain George inside the paint, as the Flames never stopped trying. Morris added more close scores, while Caitlyn Martin made her WNBL debut, checking in with 4.55 to play – with the latter making her presence felt on the defensive end. Soon after, the Hoops Capital club had another debutant, with Piper Anderson hitting the court for the first time. In the end, the visitors ran out winners by 19.
Where the match was decided
For the second straight game, the alarming stat for Guy Molloy’s side was turnovers (19-13) which led to 26-9 points off turnovers count in favour of the Spirit.
Other stats that stood out were field goal percentage (42-36), three-point percentage (48-25) and free-throw percentage (95-78).
Key moment
A first-half onslaught, where Bendigo outscored Sydney 56-36, laid the platform for their fourth straight win to open the season.
Players of the game
Despite coming off the bench, after being under the weather earlier in the week, Swain scored a game-high 25 points, to go with three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.
SECURE YOUR WNBL25 MEMBERSHIPS NOW
Not to be outdone was Morris, who had her best game in Flames colours, on the back of 19 points, nine boards, five blocks, one steal and one assist.
What’s next
The Flames, who are now 1-2, now go interstate for a two-game road trip, starting with Adelaide on November 20, followed by Perth on November 23.
The Flames’ next home game in on Saturday, November 30 at Quaycentre against Geelong for the first time – tipping off at 4.45pm.
Tickets to the round five clash are still available here.