Caps suffer tough home defeat to defending champion Flyers
After playing a few games on the road, the Caps dropped a tough physical contest 89-78 against the Southside Flyers.
The game was a tough, physical back and forth affair, with the Flyers breaking away down the stretch with some key plays from veterans Maddi Rocci and Alice Kunek, and some key contributions from Dallas Loughridge and Naz Hillmon.
Here’s how it went down.
First quarter
The Flyers started off with a flying start, with Alice Kunek hitting a layup off a seal to cap off a 7-0 start. The Caps finally got going, with Nyadiew Puoch and Mon Bobongie hitting a layup and 3 to get the Caps in the game. Naz Hillmon hit a couple baskets to keep the Flyers ahead, but Puoch – coast to coast layup – and Horvat – back to back middys –conspired to string a few baskets together as the Caps tied the game, 18-all with 2:43 left in the quarter. Ella Tofaeono hit a short hook forcing a Flyers timeout. After the Flyers timeout, the Caps forced a turnover and Horvat hit her third middy of the quarter to give the Caps a four-point lead.
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Caps 22, Flyers 20
Second quarter
The Caps built off a strong first quarter with some early baskets to start the second. Katie kicked off the quarter with a nice pick and roll set with Charli, followed by Nards getting a putback layup. Alice Kunek hit a 3 but Charli countered with a middy. Jade and Charli hit a couple of baskets to stretch the lead to seven, but Tera Reed was lights out for Southside hitting three three pointers to force the Caps to call timeout. Off the time out, Nards hit an and-1, and Jade hit a layup to put the Caps back up 39-33. But Southside did a great job getting to the line to end the half with the score tied at 41.
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Caps 41, Flyers 41
Key performers
Nads 11 and 7
Charli 8 and 3
Tera Reed 13 3 3s
Kunek 9
Third quarter
The third quarter started out rough, with Jade Melbourne copping a wayward blow from Alice Kunek (3rd foul), forcing the Canberra star out of action for the rest of the quarter. Charli got the scoring going with a putback, but the Flyers scored the next seven points, highlighted by Reed’s fourth three pointer of the game, forcing a Caps timeout. Madi Rocci continued her exploits in the lane, and Alice Kunek caught fire and suddenly the Flyers were up 57-46. Charli finally got the Caps back on track with an and-1. Monique Bobongie caught fire herself, hitting a nice floater and a corner three to get the Caps back in it, only down 3, 59-56. Off a timeout Dallas Loughridge hit a tough floater at the end of the shot clock and the score would hold to end the quarter.
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Flyers 61, Caps 56
Fourth quarter
Jade Melbourne was back on court to start the fourth and her return sparked the Caps. Ella kicked off scoring for the Caps with a strong inside bucket. Madi Rocci continued her stellar game with another layup, but Jade finally made her presence felt with a stepback 3 and a dish inside for another Ella basket to give the Caps the lead back 65-63. Southside answered quickly though, with Dallas Loughridge causing the Caps all sorts of problems with her dribble penetration and shooting to put the Flyers ahead 73-67. After a nice crossover and layup by Jadeo, Alice Kunek hit a big 3 to give the Flyers a 77-69 lead with 3:13 to go. Jadeo hit a 3 off a timeout, but Kunek hit another 3 to restore their 8-point lead with 2:12 left. Loughridge capped off a strong performance with a dagger 3 with under a minute left to put the game out of reach.
Final Score
Southside Flyers 89, UC Capitals 78
Key performers
Southside Flyers
Alice Kunek 21 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast
Maddi Rocci 22 pts, 7 rebs, 4 asts
Tera Reed 18 pts 2 rebs, 3 asts
UC Capitals
Jade Melbourne 16 pts, 4 rebs, 7 asts
Charli Collier 13 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts
Chantel Horvat 10 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts
Next game: UC Capitals at Perth Lynx, 10pm AEDT Thursday 12 December