Wilson leads the way with 26 as Lynx complete HoopsFest comeback against Spirit

Written by Lachlan Sherriff

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Coming off a surprise loss to Sydney, which was only their third defeat of the season, league leaders Bendigo Spirit returned to the court to take on the Perth Lynx in the opening game of HoopsFest.

The Lynx, who defeated Adelaide 80-65 five days earlier, welcomed the rest of the league to Perth for HoopsFest, and looked to kick the action-packed weekend of basketball off with a win.

Immediately, the contrast between the two teams was obvious. Perth looked to play through the post, particularly through 6’11 Han Xu, who scored the opening basket of the game and was fouled twice early on.

In comparison, the Spirit were getting their looks from behind the three point line, and they made them count, scoring an incredible eight three pointers in the first quarter, six of them coming from Kelsey Griffin and Kelsey Rees. Megan McConnell also was off to a hot start with six assists, helping Bendigo to a 30-22 lead at quarter time.

The Spirit continued their hot form in the second half, advancing out to a 52-40 lead. Griffin was the game’s leading scorer with fourteen points, while McConnell was making it happen at all ends of the floor with six points, seven assists and four rebounds.

For Perth, they’d have been in even more trouble if not for Ally Wilson, who had twelve points at half time. Anneli Maley was once again dominant on the glass with seven rebounds, while Alex Ciabattoni had seven points at half time of her 150th WNBL game.

In the second half, Perth began to claw their way back into the game. Han Xu began to become a more dangerous presence in the paint, while an Ally Wilson three cut Bendigo’s lead down to three, forcing the Spirit into a timeout.

The Spirit still led 69-66 at three-quarter-time, but for the first time all day, there seemed to be a belief from the home crowd that the Lynx could come back and win.

The fourth quarter was back-and-forth, with the Lynx continuously hunting down the lead. 

Eventually, Ally Wilson took matters into her own hands, hitting a three to give Perth a 79-78 lead with only two minutes left, the first time the Lynx had led since Han Xu scored the opening basket.

From there, Perth would never look back, winning 85-81 as a clutch steal from Ally Wilson sealed the victory late on.

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

For Bendigo, it’s now two losses in a row, but Isobele Borlase, who ended the night with 21 points and eleven rebounds, is confident the Spirit can turn it around.

"I feel like it's normal in seasons for teams to have little lapses, but I feel like we can't let this little lapse to to keep on going. I trust the coaches, our leadership group. We've probably got the best leader in the competition who's who's won it five times. And I think she knows what to do in these situations and we all trust her. I've got no doubt we'll be able to back up a win against Southside."

- Isobel Borlase on Bendigo's upcoming fixtures

As for Perth, coach Ryan Petrik put the victory down to limiting Bendigo's three point shooters.

"They went 61% or 62% from three for the first half. I think they were 10 or 17 at halftime. Generally speaking, that'll slow down at some point. They end up finishing at 40%. So part of it is them cooling off. But also I thought we did a way better job in the second half of getting rid of the wide open looks. Our rotations were not on point at all in the first half. And they are a team that can space us out. Obviously, we've got two big bigs and they have five flat-out shooters. So they can cause us some match-up problems and they certainly did in the first quarter."

- Ryan Petrik on limiting Bendigo from the three point line.

The Lynx will play Townsville in their next game on Tuesday, while Bendigo take on the Southside Flyers.