Brydens Sydney Uni Flames suffered a painstaking loss over the weekend as the battled powerhouse the Townsville Fire in Townsville. Playing on Sunday afternoon, the game was competed in sweltering conditions resulting in the Flames falling to the grand finalists of 2014 by 32 points.
In what was a tough task from the outset, the Flames allowed the home side to get out to a 21 point lead at quarter time, meaning they were always chasing. Despite keeping Olympian and multiple time league MVP Suzy Batkovic to only 8 points in her 22 minutes of play, Stephanie Cumming and Cayla Francis combined to wreak havoc for the Flames.
The inform pair collected 22 points and 20 points collectively, while Francis also pulled down 10 rebounds. The Flames appeared outsized as they lost the rebound count by 12 and allowed Townsville to collect 48 points from inside the paint.
Despite becoming much more competitive for the remaining three quarters, the Flames were unable to capitalise from scoring opportunities, shooting at a much lower percentage from the field than Townsville. While Katie Ebzery led all scorers for the Flames, she was only able to collect 14 points, lower than her season average due to limited prospects putting up 8 shots.
Although this was a disheartening loss for the team, they won’t be looking back as they have to bounce back quickly this week facing another tough task in the Bendigo Spirit although this time at home. Get down to Brydens Stadium at 7pm to catch all the action and support a good cause as it is the WNBL Ovarian Cancer Awareness Round!
On offer will be a High Teal with cupcakes, slices, tea and coffee in support of the cause and also a raffle, so be sure to bring a couple of gold coins to make a donation!
