AN exceptional offensive performance from Sara Blicavs has seen the Southside Flyers claim a thumping win over the Melbourne Boomers in Parkville on Wednesday night, emerging 18-point winners.
Blicavs had the best offensive performance of the season, torching the Boomers defence with one of the most accurate shooting performances in recent memory in the WNBL. Although Melbourne put most of its eggs into slowing down the veteran forward, it was in vain as Blicavs produced a masterclass in finding the bottom of the net.
Dominant showings in the second and third quarters offensively from the Flyers proved to be the deciding factor, breaking away after a tense opening term to put the result away prior to the final change of play.
Southside’s win sees the standings tighten up a bit more around the top of the ladder, with the Flyers just one win behind the Boomers, who currently sit in second place.
Melbourne Boomers (70) def. by Southside Flyers (88)
Sara Blicavs – 41 points, five rebounds
Blicavs’ 41 points was clearly the highest points total of any player on the court, absolutely torching a Melbourne defence that had no answers for her strong play.
Remarkably, the 29-year-old shot 88 per cent from the field, with 15 of her 17 attempts finding the bottom of the net. She had a strong mix of inside and outside scoring, which made her an even taller task to guard as she could score across all three levels.
Behind the arc, Blicavs was not afraid to fire a shot, and why not given the form she was in across the entirety of the match. From three-point territory, she went a stunning six from six, rolling out to the perimeter to perfection and punishing the opposition with a cool, calm and composed shooting motion, despite the defenders closing out as well as they could.
The Flyers took over the match when they began to look for her to take control of the offence, and the likes of Maddison Rocci and Monique Conti were sure to make the right pass to free up their in-form teammate.
Despite being in her 251st WNBL game, Blicavs has shown no signs of slowing down, and Wednesday’s performances suggest she could take her game up a notch. She looks ready to completely take control of the Flyers’ offence in the half-court, and if Southside can push the tempo through her, then it can be a winning method as we saw against the Boomers.
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