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The Sydney University Flames have come away with a stirring victory over the Bendigo Spirit, defeating the current ladder leaders by 93-86 in an overtime thriller at Bryden’s Stadium.
The win is the Flames’ fifth in their last six games, giving them breathing space between in the top four.
Lauren Nicholson was the star in overtime, hitting the opening three of the period before putting the nail in the coffin with the final two points of the game, all a part of the home side’s 9-2 run.
It looked as though it wouldn’t get to the additional five minutes however.
Asia Taylor came away with a pair of big plays late in the fourth, including an offensive rebound and basket, as well as a fast-break assist to Leilani Mitchell which saw the Flames lead by 3 with just 40 seconds left in regulation.
That lead was wiped out when Kelsey Griffin hit a clutch three to tie things up at 84 with 30 seconds on the clock. There would ultimately be no further scoring in regulation time.
The loss was just the fourth of the season for the Spirit, who will have a chance to regain their momentum when they play the winless Adelaide Thunder tonight.
Coach Simon Pritchard could see the positives in the heartbreaking loss.
“We’ve been working on bringing it down (turnover count) game by game, so it was really good to see it at 12 tonight, which is an improvement,” he said.
“We know that Sydney are a very physical team and they like to impart themselves on the big players, so we tried to put the ball in there (the paint).”
Heather Oliver finished with eight points and two steals in just 16 minutes of time on the floor in a valuable contribution for the Spirit.
“We (the bench) just try to come in and do our bit, whether it’s two or five minutes of play, you need to work hard and do what you can,” Oliver said.
“We can watch the game for a little bit and see what’s not working or what we need to bring down on the court. It’s something that we pride ourselves on.”
Sydney welcomed back import Jennifer Hamson from a fortnight on the sidelines with a leg injury, and her impact was felt on both ends of the floor.
She finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in a stellar display.
“It’s just fun to come back and play. I was really looking forward to this game and was just focused on playing hard,” Hamson said.
Flames coach Cheryl Chambers was more outgoing about the effort of her starting centre.
“I thought she was absolutely fantastic, not just in the rebounds and scoring points, but she changed a lot of shots and was great help in defence,” she said.
The Flames lit it up from beyond the arc, completing 13 of their 26 shots from long range, including four apiece from Leilani Mitchell and Belinda Snell.
“We got some open looks, and I don’t think we forced that many three-pointers. If we’ve got our feet set and the ball is going inside and outside, I’m happy to take as many threes as another team is going to give us,” Chambers said.
“We’re blessed enough to have some great three-point shooters and I think it’s tough to guard us. If you look at the scoreboard we’ve got lots of double figure (point) scorers.”
Mitchell was again outstanding for the Flames, picking up 18 points and 11 assists. She wasn’t alone, with Snell contributing 16 points (6-12 FG) and Asia Taylor dropping 16 points (6-10 FG), 10 rebounds and five assists, continuing the import’s hot run of form.
Despite the loss, Spirit captain Kelsey Griffin led all scorers with 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six steals. She was helped out by teammate Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe who finished with 22 points (9-13 FG), 12 rebounds and two steals.
Bendigo and Sydney traded blows for much of the first quarter, with a 9-2 opening run by the visitors countered by the Flames, who led by as much as eight, before a determined comeback saw the Spirit lead 24-23 at the first break.
The tussle for ascendancy continued in the second, with five lead changes in the quarter alone showing just how much of a battle this was.
Some strong driving plays from Taylor and a big transition three from Sarah Graham saw the lead stretch out to six for the Flames, before some sloppy fouling gifted the Spirit six free throws deep in the term to cut the lead back to just two, with Sydney leading 51-49.
Carly Boag made an impact off the bench in the third quarter with five crucial points, but it wasn’t enough to stretch the lead out as Raincock-Ekunwe contributed nine of her own to see her side trail 70-69 heading into the final term.
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