Flames smash Lightning during Pink Hoops fixture

January 19, 2025 | Sydney Flames news

The Sydney Flames returned to the winner’s circle in a big way on Sunday, defeating the Adelaide Lightning 84-60 at Qudos Bank Arena.

The victory marked the club’s second straight Pink Hoops victory, this time played in front of 4,205 fans.

Match summary 

The Flames opened the Pink Hoops scoring with a Yemiyah Morris lay-in, of a sweet dime from Celeste Taylor. This was followed by triples by Shaneice Swain and McKenna – with money being donated by Harvey Norman and fans for every three-pointer hit during the day. When Swain and Taylor nailed two more triples, the lead was 14-0. Two quick buckets by Cayla George made it 18-0 before Adelaide finally ended the drought with a two-pointer by Steph Talbot in her 200th game. Triples by George, Carla Pitman and Swain ensued with a steal and fadeaway bucket by Tahlia Tupaea (in her 150th game) on the buzzer making it 30-9 at quarter-time. 

The second term started with Brooke Basham hitting two triples for Adelaide to close the margin but that was restored soon after by Morris and Taylor. Another Basham shot from downtown closed it to 16 midway through the second. Morris continued to cause issues for the visitors, recording a first-half double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds). Her strong play gave the harbour city side a 45-27 lead at the break. 

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The third quarter belonged to Swain for the Flames, with the guard hitting three triples in quick succession. Both George and Taylor then chipped in for Guy Molloy’s side, to keep them in front by more than 20. At the end of the three, the hosts led 68-46 at three-quarter-time. 

Brianna Turner did all she could for Adelaide to fight back into the match but an and-one bucket by Sherrie Calleia slowed that. Free-throws by Tupaea and Sain followed, as the two rivals traded scores. George continued to shine for the hosts, producing plays on both ends of the floor. A Calleia triple gave Sydney a 26-point lead, with efforts by Bonnie Deas and Morris icing the huge win. 

Where the match was decided 

The Flames secured the victory thanks to superior statistics in field goal percentage (39-34), free-throw percentage (84-50), rebounds (52-40), assists (18-14), steals (8-5), second-chance points (14-2) and bench points (21-17.)

Key moment  

The Flames opened the match on an 18-0 run, which turned into a 30-9 first quarter – which laid for the platform for the big round 12 win.

Player of the game 

Swain won the Tiana Mangakahia Pink Hoops MVP award, after tallying 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and one steal.

What’s next 

The Flames, who are now 6-9, now head to Queensland to face the Townsville Fire on Wednesday night from 7.30pm AEDT – live on ESPN. 

Molloy’s side will then return home for a round 13 clash with Perth at Quaycentre on Saturday, January 25 – with tickets still available here. 

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