AFTER a week off last weekend due to COVID-related interruptions, the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) is back for another round of high quality action. Round 6 saw all matches postponed, so this match marks the first bit of basketball that fans have seen in quite some time and in turn, they were treated to some of the best action this competition has seen so far this season.

The match saw the Perth Lynx travel to Ballarat Sports Event Centre to take on the reigning champions in the Southside Flyers in what was a highly anticipated clash. The Lynx had only been able to kick off their season a couple of weeks ago due to border restrictions and pushed the ladder-leading Adelaide Lightning to the limit in their first outing. There was plenty of excitement around this team heading into this season, and they got a true test against last year’s winners on Wednesday night, one they passed with flying colours.

FIRST QUARTER:

The match opened with the Flyers finding their 2021 form early on. After a quiet few weeks, the side started this match in ideal fashion, jumping out to an early lead that stunned the Lynx. The burst mostly came from their starters, who began the contest by making the most of any opportunity the defence was giving them. Conversely, Perth struggled from the field in the first period, as they were only able to produce 15 points for the quarter, trailing their opponents by six at the first break.

SECOND QUARTER:

The second term saw a much more settled Perth side emerge from the quarter time huddle, as they worked the ball into the hands of their stars on a more frequent basis. It was the strong play from duo Marina Mabrey and Lauren Scherf that got their side back into the match, as the pair sank plenty of big shots to trim the margin back to a more than respectable total. By the time the main break rolled around, the Flyers lead stood at just two points, and everyone knew that it was game on.

THIRD QUARTER:

The third period was once again an impressive outing from the reigning champions, who were able to grab control of the match just as they did in the first term. Proceedings were tied early in the term, but the Flyers went on a number of impressive runs throughout this time and were able to once again slightly break away from the Lynx with some strong offensive rhythm. Every time Perth would pull themselves back into the contest, Southside were able to find a way to find an answer down the other end and heading into the fourth quarter, the lead was stretched out to five once more.

FOURTH QUARTER:

The fourth period saw the scoring slow down slightly, with a mixture of strong defence and fatigue coming into play for this time. Neither team was able to pass 20 points for the term, but it was Perth who were able to wrestle control back into their favour with a strong quarter. They slowly chipped away at the lead as the minutes dragged on, but the biggest shot came from Darcee Garbin, who nailed her shot from behind the three-point line to tie up the match and send the two teams to overtime.

EXTRA TIME:

In the extra period, the trend of slower scoring continued, with the sides combining for eight points in the five overtime minutes (this would be expected after a week off and many recovering from COVID). However, there was no doubt that this time belonged to the Lynx, who were able to hustle on the defensive end of the court and make the necessary shots with ball in hand as they drove themselves to their first win of the season.

CLOSING THOUGHTS…

In terms of strongest performers for the victors, it is hard to go past Mabrey and Scherf. The two were dominant all night and kept their side in the contest whenever the Flyers would look to make a match-winning run. The pair combined for 46 points and 19 rebounds in what was an eye-catching performance. If the duo can continue to work this well together, then expect this team to rise the rankings in no time at all. For the Flyers, Sara Blicavs led all comers with 21 points (9-18 FG) in a typically strong offensive performance.