The Southside Flyers ended their season on a high, recording a 16 point win over the Sydney Flames in a battle of two teams that have been decimated by injuries.
A good crowd rolled up to QuayCentre - many of the Hoops Capital ownership group were there to honour coach Flames coach Guy Molloy’s 350th game, former club legend Jodie Smith was honoured, while a host of young basketballers added a young, loud atmosphere after taking part in the Basketball NSW Annie Le Fleur Challenge nearby.
On the court, both sides went into the game missing a number of players - Celeste Taylor had been ruled out for the rest of the season on Friday, joining Cayla George, Mikaela Ruef, Emma Clarke and McKenna Dale on the sidelines for Sydney, while Flyers skipper was carrying the drinks for her team, alongside Tera Reed and Tayah Burrows, while Alice Kunek was released during the week to take up a short term opportunity in Asia.
Coach Molloy called 18 year old Bonnie Deas into the starting lineup for the first time in her short career, and the emerging young gun rewarded the coach by bringing instant energy to the team despite having the task of guarding Opal Maddy Rocci.
Import Yemiyah Morris returned to the starting lineup for the Flames, having played just three minutes on Wednesday night as she returned from an injury. Morris is still playing somewhat injured as Molloy said after the game:
“We’re so desperately small at the moment. Miyah Morris is not even meant to be back at the moment, but it’s just ridiculous playing with everyone under 5’10 so she’s had to come back a little bit early, but she’s physically really struggling at the moment.”
Like Townsville Fire on Wednesday night, the Flyers sought to exploit the height advantage from early on, getting the ball into Naz Hillmon and Carly Ernst, who were matching up on much smaller opponents. Hillmon dominated on the night, shooting 59% from the field but also netting a couple of threes.
“I always knew that Hillmon was going to be a challenge for us , so her having 30 [points]… she was a bit too smart for us”, Molloy said after the game.
The Flames led at quarter time, with Tahlia Tupaea looking to lead the young lineup, and she had 8pts in the first 10 minutes. From then on, the Flyers won every quarter, with Rocci and emerging young guard Dallas Loughridge stepping up at crucial times when the game was in the balance.
That was particularly the case in the second half. Holding a two point lead at halftime, the Flyers pressured the Flames ball handlers in the early stages of the third quarter, and in a carbon copy of Sydney’s last match, Southside scored two early fast break layups from clumsy turnovers, blowing out the margin. From there, Rocci in particular managed the game well, and she finished with 17 points and 9 assists.
With experienced stars Cole and Kunek missing, Rocci has taken ownership of running the team in the final games of the season:
“Obviously we’ve had a lot of injuries and that’s something you don’t always think is going to happen but I think the way the team has carried themselves, especially the last couple of weeks, I think we’ve shown the grit and determination to finish the season on a high.”
Dallas Loughridge’s emergence this season will likely have her as a candidate for the Breakout Player of the Year at tomorrow’s WNBL Awards. After the game HER WAY asked Dallas about the opportunity to train and play alongside three Opals guards, as well as being coached by one of Australia’s best ever, Kristi Harrower:
“I like picking their brains. I also like just playing against them, making sure the training environment is hard, so I’m getting better everyday going against girls that are really good.
As a young point guard, me being able to learn from [Kristi] has been amazing, and she’s been super helpful for me and my game.”
Despite her limitations with injury, Yemimah Morris recorded a double double, as did Bonnie Deas. The 18 year old was a shining light for the Flames. On a night where Guy Molloy admitted to being a bit “emotional” as he was honoured for 350 games, he said about his young gun post game,
“For an 18 year old, she’s a young star, and I love her work rate and her desire to improve. She’s going off to college, and we obviously we wish her well in that journey and then hopefully we can reconnect once that’s done. She’s a future star, you’re going to hear a lot more about her.”
While the Flames celebrated Molloy’s milestone as a coach, the game saw Kristi Harrower’s first season as a WNBL head coach come to an end. With the departure of Adelaide’s Nat Hurst during the season, the Opals legend ended the season as the league’s only female coach. HER WAY asked Harrower on her thoughts about coaching, and why there aren’t more women coaching at the highest level.
“I just think… it’s hard for women. We have kids, we’ve got to be a part of the kids’ lives and be there, so it’s difficult at times to do that. But if I can carry the flag for the women and hopefully get more in there, especially in our women’s sport. There’s not many jobs every year, so it’s difficult.”
The injury-ravaged Flames have the daunting task of taking on minor premiers Bendigo in the semi finals, a team which has defeated Sydney by no less than 19 points in all three regular season matchups. Molloy is confident Cayla George will return for that series, however the other of his injured brigade are less likely to return.
“Given where our team is at, I want to say less than half strength, it’s going to be an enormous challenge for us to compete in the next round of things, but it’s a milestone for the club in a sense, because we haven’t been in playoffs for seven years, and hopefully it’s the start of something.”