Third-quarter onslaught steers Lynx to win over Flames
The Sydney Flames fell 105-83 to the Perth Lynx on Saturday night, in front of 1,563 fans at Quaycentre.
Match summary
Isabella Brancatisano got the Flames’ scoring underway with a triple, following a touch-pass by Cayla George. Despite this, the visitors raced out to a 9-4 lead in the opening three minutes. Buckets from Celeste Taylor and Cayla George, which included seven straight for the latter, tied the game up at 15-all. Despite late scores by Tahlia Tupawa and Shaneice Swain, the hosts trailed 28-24 at the first break.
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That lead was quickly evaporated, with Guy Molloy’s side starting the term on a 13-4 run, with contributions coming from across the board. But the Lynx hit back, with Laeticia Amihere capping a 7-0 run, to tie the game up once again at 39-all. Brancatisano and Anneli Maley then exchanged threes before an Ally Wilson steal and lay-up put Ryan Petrik’s in front. Despite a Swain corner three, some suspect refereeing calls ensured the visitors led 52-47 at half-time.
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That lead ballooned to 16 within three minutes of the resumption, thanks to a 14-3 run to start the period. The visitor’s intense defence forced Sydney into numerous turnovers resulting in easy lay-ups for the Lynx, as the lead grew to 21. The Flames didn’t go away though, with scores by George keeping them within striking distance. But they did little to stem the flow, as Perth dominated that quarter, to the tune of 39-10.
In the fourth, a scoring flurry by Carla Pitman closed the margin for the Hoops Capital side. Further to that, efforts on both end of the court by Brancatisano ignited the crowd. Further triples by Pitman, Taylor and Brancatisano closed the margin to 22, which is how it ended at full-time
Where the match was decided
Perth secured the win on the back of superior statistics in steals (17-7), second-chance points (16-9), points off turnovers (34-21), bench points (30-17) and fast-break points (36-14) – while also committing half as many turnovers (24-12).
Key moment
A 39-10 third quarter proved the difference between the two sides.
Player of the game
Taylor top-scored for the Flames, with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal.
The other two that shone, outside of George (17 points and seven boards), were Brancatisano and Pitman – who both finished with 14.
What’s next
The Flames, who are now 6-11, now head to Canberra to face the UC Capitals on Thursday, January 30 – with the match being broadcast live on 9Now from 7.30pm AEDT.
The next home fixture for Molloy’s side is on Wednesday, February 12 against Townsville – with tickets to the Quaycentre clash (from 6.45pm AEDT) still available here.