Supporters of the Southern Design Sydney Uni Flames are busy working out the “equations” after the team suffered a 91-82 loss to Dandenong at the Sydney Uni Sports & Aquatic Centre of Friday night.
With two rounds of the Women’s National Basketball League season to be played leading into the finals, the Flames hold down sixth place on the ladder and terms such as “must win” and “relying on other results” have entered conversations.
Adelaide head the WNBL table, with Bulleen, Dandenong, Townsville and Bendigo in front of the Flames and Logan in seventh place and pushing for a top-six berth. And they have a game in hand.
The Flames travel to Bendigo this Friday night for a crucial match with the fifth-placed Spirit at Bendigo Stadium. They then round out the season with a home match against second-last placed West Coast.
Meanwhile, Logan play last-placed AIS at home and then hit the road for matches against Bendigo and Bulleen. A couple of wins out of those three could see them edge out the Sydney franchise.
The Flames gave up a 12-point half-time lead when they were over-run on their home court on Friday night. They led 24-23 at the first break and 53-41 at the main break.
Dandenong worked their way back into the contest in the third quarter, outscoring their opponents 19-14, before eventually taking the lead 77-76 with under four minutes remaining in the contest.
Jenna O’Hea top-scored for the Rangers with 19 points, helping to take their season record to 12-8. Krista Phillips added 16 points, while Kathleen MacLeod contributed a near triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Belinda Snell led the way for the Flames with 22 points, to go along with five assists, while Lauren King added 18 points and Amy Denson added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Scoreboard
Dandenong Rangers 91 (Jenna O’Hea 19, Krista Phillips 16, Kathleen MacLeod 16) defeated Sydney Uni Flames 82 (Belinda Snell 22, Lauren King 18, Amy Denson 13) at Sydney University Sports and Aquatic Centre.
