Boomers Burnt By The Flames
The Deakin Melbourne Boomers have fallen devastatingly short against the Sydney Flames in a heart-wrenching three-point loss at home.
In the launch of the Boomers very first Girls Day Out, over 1,800 eager fans descended into the State Basketball Centre to enjoy a thrilling day of basketball for what was the third and final match-up between the two teams this season.
The first period began slowly for the Boomers, while the Flames were able to get three quick scores. It wasn’t until two minutes into play that Maddie Garrick managed to kick things off with her signature corner-trey.
Jenna O’Hea then carried it from defence to lead to Cayla George’s first basket of the day. The same pattern was then reversed as George got the defensive rebound to allow O’Hea to nail four quick pts to level the scores.
Ezi Magbegor then led the Boomers defence in the second half of the quarter, which along with late hoops from George managed to bring the scores back to 15-18 heading into the first break.
Missed opportunities however were a theme of the quarter for the Boomers as they struggled to shoot accurately.
In the second term, the Boomers started things slowly much like the first quarter as they had difficulty finding a rhythm on offence. A few minutes in, it was another Garrick mid-range jumper that once again opened up the Boomers scoring.
The Boomers hustle however was shortly brought to a halt as they struggled to catch a break after six consecutive scores from the Flames saw them edge to a 11pt lead half way through the quarter.
The Boomers second score for the term didn’t occur until four minutes left to play when Allen drilled her first for the day. It was Allen’s hoop that managed to kick start a late surge from the Boomers, as Magebegor shortly drilled two in a row to narrow the margin to 6pts.
As the momentum swung the Boomers way, a run from defence allowed O’Hea to get another basket. It was then Allen who forced the Flames to turnover which resulted in yet another Magbegor lay-up. Continuing her hot shooting, Magbegor then buried her shots from the free-throw line courtesy of an Allen steal to give the Boomers the offensive spark they needed.
The Boomers went into half time on the back of Magbegor and O’Hea who had 14pts combined that kept the scores close at 27-33.
The third term began with an easy reverse for George that quickly turned on the burners for the Boomers. This was followed by another Garrick trey that put the Boomers back to a 1pt deficit. The Flames then drilled a couple of their own before Allen put their offensive run to an end nailing her own basket before another George hoop.
It was the Flames however that continued to have the answers before a Talbot lay-up cut the margin back to 5pts half-way through the term. A fiery Allen managed to turn the heat on in defence late in the quarter with a block of her own that managed to stop the Flames momentum.
Another Garrick trey was drilled home before an Allen basket and consecutive Magebegor scores saw the Boomers cut the margin back to 2pts late in the term. A further defence play by Magbegor got the rebound and pushed the Boomers to a 4pt trail heading into the last term.
The final quarter saw another early Magebegor defensive rebound convert into an Allen hoop to bridge the gap back to 2pts. The buckets were traded back and forth early in the quarter with the Flames managing to maintain their short lead.
A basket from George with six minutes left to play followed by a Garrick trey gave the Boomers their second lead of the game since the first quarter. Another massive corner-trey was then drilled by O’Hea which allowed the Boomers to grind their way to a 4pt lead with only three minutes left to play.
However, four fast points from the Flames 100th gamer Tupaea pushed the Boomers to a 3pt deficit beyond reach. Unfortunately, time was the essence and the Boomers couldn’t respond in time to clinch the win, with the final scores 62-65.
Game highs included Maddie Garrick’s 14pts, Cayla George’s 13rebs and 2stls, Jenna O’Hea’s 6asts and Steph Talbot’s 2blks.
Despite the loss, the Boomers maintain their second position on the 18/19 Chemist Warehouse WNBL ladder at 9-5. The Boomers are back in action at home again next Sunday (December 16, 3pm) in our Volunteers Day game.
Tickets are available HERE.
