By Marcus Uhe
The Southside Flyers’ bounce-back win over Bendigo on Sunday night mitigated a midweek thrashing at the hands of Townsville in the WNBL.
Southside defeated Bendigo 91-81 in Bendigo on Sunday afternoon, overcoming a slow start to add another number to the wins column.
Bendigo held the visiting Flyers to only 14 points in the opening quarter, thanks largely to an 11-point run midway through the period to open a 10-point lead.
Southside’s back-court led a fightback in the second quarter, with Bec Cole, Leilani Mitchell and Maddison Rocci all contributing on the scoreboard to erase the deficit, snatching the lead after four minutes on a Cole jump shot.
But a quick 10 unanswered points from Bendigo restored another buffer in a contest that was descending into a game of runs.
Despite the fluctuations in momentum, it was Southside with their noses in front at the long break with a slender two-point lead.
An even third quarter set the stage for a tight finish, as the margin remained at two points heading into the final quarter.
Every Southside breakaway was answered by Bendigo, eager to claim a fourth win in five starts to re-ignite their season, the largest Flyers lead only reaching seven points.
When the moment required, it was Lauren Jackson who showed all her years of experience in a handful of critical moments early in the final term for Southside to blow the game apart.
Jackson secured an offensive rebound to give Southside a second consecutive offensive possession, ending in a three from Rocci to push the lead to four.
On the next trip up the floor after the Flyers secured a stop, she then scored a basket and drew a foul on a pick and roll with Rocci after setting a crushing screen on Rocci’s opponent.
While she missed the resulting free throw, her two involvements sparked a crucial 9-0 streak for the Flyers that ultimately separated the two sides.
Rocci and Cole both scored 24 to lead Southside in scoring.
On Thursday night, the Flyers were made to pay for a lacklustre opening, thrashed by 28 points to the reigning champions 105-77.
The margin grew at each of the first three intervals; from 16 points at the first quarter, to 24 at the half, and 34 at the final break, stretching to 36 points early in the last term as Townsville piled on the pain.
The lead raced to double figures within the first four minutes of the contest, Townsville scoring with ease however they chose, both within and outside the three-point line, setting the tone for a tough outing.
The Flyers shot an abysmal 8.3 per cent from behind the three-point line and allowed Townsville to shoot at 57.6 per cent from the field.
Having fallen to Townsville in last season’s grand final series, the Fire appear to have a psychological edge over Southside that looks difficult to shake.
Guard Jasmine Dickey scored a season-high 20 points off the bench, equal top-scorer with Russell in a lone bright spot for Southside.
Cole had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Flyers next head to Perth to face the Lynx on Saturday night.
