THE Women’s National Basketball (WNBL) continues its second round of action tonight, with a clash between two sides that are eager to get on the winners’ list for season 2023/24.

Friday night sees the Bendigo Spirit host the Sydney Flames at Mildura Basketball Stadium to continue the week’s WNBL play. It marks the second match of Round 2 after the Southside Flyers recorded a big win over the UC Capitals on Wednesday night.

Tonight’s matchup looms as crucial for the two sides, with both teams sustaining losses to start the season last week, and the danger of falling 0-2 likely causing complications down the line. Both sides were expected to make waves throughout the season, particularly the Flames, who loaded up with some big talent over the off-season. However, Bendigo will have homecourt advantage (to an extent, given the game is in Mildura), so it is shaping as a big clash.

Bendigo Spirit vs. Sydney Flames

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Bendigo Spirit – 80-93 loss to the Townsville Fire
Sydney Flames – 71-85 loss to the Perth Lynx

Key performers

Both sides will be eager to get some bigger contributions on the offensive end, after posting disappointing scores in their respective games last weekend.

It was a disappointing performance in terms of efficiency from Alex Wilson in Bendigo’s loss to the reigning champions in Round 1. She made just three baskets on 10 attempts for 10 points, clearly suffering from an off-night shooting. While she kept shooting after some early misses, the attempts just would not fall, and it stalled her team’s offence as a result. If the Spirit are to get to a winning score, they will need her to improve.

For the Flames, the star duo of Lauren Nicholson and Cayla George are key to the team getting over the line. The off-season recruits found it tough going when shooting the ball at times last weekend, but George impacted the game in other ways while Nicholson eventually got her shot going. The Flames will look to get the ball in the hands of one of this pair wherever possible, and if both can fire, it will go a long way in Sydney securing the win.

Area of improvement

Last week, the Spirit were simply too sloppy in taking care of the basketball. It is not too often in the sport to see a team win the game while turning the ball over more than the opposition. Bendigo gave the Fire as many scoring opportunities as possible with some sloppy passes and loose carries, conceding 21 turnovers to the opposition’s 14. The team will need to be more careful with the ball if they are to get the job done against Sydney.

The Flames biggest concern last week was simply inaccurate shooting, with the team missing both contested and wide open looks. The Lynx put plenty of pressure on the Flames defensively wherever possible, and it resulted in some poor shooting from the field. The Flames shot six per cent worse than Perth, which was the difference in the end. Expect the Spirit to put the same pressure on, and Sydney will need to be better in creating and knocking down shots from the field.