THE Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Grand Final series resumes on Thursday night, with the potential for a 2023/24 title winner on the cards given proceedings currently sit at 1-0.

The Perth Lynx will be eager to wrap up the season with a win on their home deck at Bendat Basketball Centre, while the Southside Flyers have their season on the line after conceding the first match.

Given game one was a bit of a blowout, there will need to be significant changes made from a Southside point of view if this contest is to be more competitive.

Perth Lynx (4th) vs. Southside Flyers (2nd)

Thursday, March 14 @9:30pm AEDT
Bendat Basketball Centre

The Lynx took a one-game lead in the best of three series after an emphatic display on the road in the opening clash, furthering their claims as title favourites and placing themselves in a strong position to claim the win.

Perth crossed the Nullabor in one of the longest road trips in the WNBL to take on the Flyers at Melbourne Sports Centre in Parkville in a game it was not expected to win. However, the Lynx produced one of their best showings of the season, keeping their momentum rolling with another strong team outing.

The Flyers were convincingly outclassed, and with tonight being an elimination clash, will need to get more production on both ends.

A big part of slowing down Perth will be shutting down the duo of Amy Atwell and Aari McDonald, who have been dominant throughout the postseason. Atwell exploded offensively to score 30 points on 9/14 shooting from three-point land, while McDonald had a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, so Southside will need to be putting plenty of attention into this duo.

Offensively, the Flyers will be needing more from the likes of Rebecca Cole (eight points), Leilani Mitchell (three points) and Mercedes Russell (12 points) if they are to match Perth’s output. Lauren Jackson played a lone hand on offence last week, but will need more help from the supporting cast.

For the Lynx, maintaining their current level of play will be a key to victory, given how well the blitzing style of play is proving to be. Getting the ball in the hands of Atwell and McDonald has worked so far, and should be a point of emphasis again.

Prediction – Perth Lynx by 8.