IN the last match of Round 4 before the Christmas break, Southside Flyers hosted Townsville Fire. The match was always going to epic, with both teams meeting for the first time this season. Just 12 months earlier, they faced off in the 2020 WNBL Grand Final in the Queensland hub.

The defending champions Flyers were looking to get a win on the board after a tough couple of round losses, both against the Melbourne Boomers, and facing the Fire would be the biggest test of the season so far this season. For the Fire – who were coming into the round undefeated this season – were looking to carry their momentum going into the break with a perfect record.  

For Southside there were several facets to winning the game. First, they needed to restrict the Fire’s defensive duo of Zitina Aokuso and Monique Billings, who have been a problem for opposition teams. Secondly they also had to limit the influence of Lauren Nicholson and Sug Sutton. Finally, the Flyers needed others to step up in the absence of Sara Blicavs (injury).

FIRST QUARTER:

With Abby Bishop starting the game strongly scoring the opening points for the Flyers, the first few minutes of the first quarter was basket for basket for both teams. From there, the contest certainly lived up to expectations for the rest of the game.

With the Flyers struggling to nail their shots and turning over the ball, Townsville came out firing with Billings nailing a three to give the Fire the lead. After a three from Aimie Rocci to give the defending champions back the lead with a two-point floating jump shot, Mia Murray stepped up hitting a three with 5:18 left in the first quarter to tie the game up, 13-all.

Sutton and Billings were unstoppable stepping up in the later part of the first quarter, with the Flyers looking to find answers to limit their scoring power. Nicholson and Steph Reid stepped up hitting three’s, extending the margin to eight points with 2:45 minutes left in the first quarter.

In her 200th game WNBL game milestone, Rebecca Cole added seven points to her tally, playing her role. Whilst for the Fire, Reid scored nine points to help her side have a strong first quarter, going into the quarter time break with a 12 point lead, 32-20.

SECOND QUARTER:

It was a tough start to the second quarter for the Southside Flyers. With Nicholson starting the scoring for the Fire, the Flyers struggled to nail their shots offensively. The Fire’s defensive pressure stepped up and nailed shots from anywhere. Billings continued her dominance from the first quarter, giving the Flyers headaches on how to stop her.

With the Flyers going to their bench, they were desperate to find a spark to get back into the match.

Kate Gaze came up with a great highlight blocking a shot, and Abby Bishop nailed a well-needed two-point shot, reduced the margin to seven with 7:01 minutes in the second quarter, 34-27. The Fire continued to add the scoring pressure for the rest of the quarter, going into the half time break with a 13 point lead, 54-41.

For the half time stats, whilst shooting percentages were almost even, with the Flyers shooting 14/31 (45 per cent), the Fire shot from 20/40 (50 per cent). With the rebounding category, with the Flyers leading 20-19, turnovers were a key category the Flyers needed to address, leading 9-3.

With energy and playing hungry message possibly the key message for the Flyers at the half-time break, and desperate to get back into the contest, they were determined to come out firing and give the home crowd something to cheer about.

THIRD QUARTER:

From the start of the second half, the Flyers certainly came out firing and hungry.  With Jenna O’Hea nailing a two point shot to reduce the margin to 13 with 7.02 left in the third quarter,  Sutton extended the margin back to 15 points before Cole went to the free throw line, nailing two shots, reducing the margin back out to 13 points. Aimie Rocci came to the party nailing a tough two point shot, reducing the margin to 11.

With Abby Bishop making her presence in the game, she stepped up when the Flyers needed it most, nailing two free throws, reducing the margin to nine points with 4.37 left in the third quarter, 58-49. With the Fire looking to extend the margin just like how they had in the second quarter, they were keen to find the energy.

Cole was outstanding stepping up when her team needed her, nailing  hitting some huge buckets to start the run of the comeback, Maddison Rocci hitting two three-point shots, forcing the Fire to call a timeout and looking to steady the ship. After a great fightback from the Flyers winning the quarter 19-14, the Fire went into the three quarter break with an eight-point lead, 68-60.

FOURTH QUARTER:

The last quarter had the same intensity as the third quarter, with the home crowd finding their voice being loud and cheering their team back into it. With O’Hea nailing two shots back-to-back, reducing the Fire’s led to four points. With Billings nailing a shot, Cole came up big with a block shot, giving her side a spark and to take the lead.

Every time the Fire hit a shot, the Flyers found others to put points on the board. With the likes of Aimie Rocci hitting a three and hitting crucial free throws, reducing the margin to four with 4.19 left in the match. With Bishop stepping up when her team needed, she put her experience out there, with the Flyers finding their energy and Fire looking to make one last trick out of the trick bag.  

With Bishop nailing two free throws and Kristy Wallace hitting a tough two point jump shot to extend the margin to four points, Reid made a wide three point shot, trying to get her side to possibly force the game into overtime after the time out.cWith Bishop nailing two free throws, the Flyers sealed the win with a five point win, 86-81.

CLOSING THOUGHTS …

For the full time stats, Cole had a magnificent match finishing off with 24 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and 2 blocks. Aimie Rocci finished with 11 points, O’Hea with 12 points, Maddison Rocci with 12 points and Bishop with 17 points.

For the Fire, Billings was on song with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals, Aokuso with 14 points, Reid with 12 points and Sutton with 13 points.

With the WNBL competition going into the Christmas break, the Townsville Fire set up an epic clash in Round 5 against the UC Caps on the January 31, whilst for the Southside Flyers, they play the Perth Lynx in Round 6 on the January 5, 2022.