Flames dig deep to defeat Geelong on the road

The Sydney Flames secured their third straight win and moved into the WNBL top four on Saturday night, by defeating Geelong United 81-74 at Geelong Arena.

The victory also marked the Flames first on the road in WNBL and first at Geelong Arena against United.

Match summary

Shaneice Swain opened the match's scoring with a deep triple before Hannah Hank added six straight for the hosts, during a turnover-heavy opening few minutes. Cayla George, Isabella Brancatisano and Celeste Taylor responded with threes, as the Hoops Capital side led 12-6. Yemiyah Morris and Bonnie Deas then added two-pointers as the Flames extended their lead to nine. Five quick ones by Swain, followed by a quartet of free-throws by Sherrie Calleia pushed the lead to 14, which is how it remained until the first break (25-12).

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Monique Conti's early two closed the margin but an and-one by Morris, followed by eight straight by Swain, sparked a 12-4 start to the term by Guy Molloy's side. Morris added another two, on the back of a slick pass from Taylor, to put the visitors up 37-16. Geelong responded with five of their own but a corner three by Bonnie Deas ended the harbour city's drought. Former Flames captain Keely Froling did all she could for the hosts, to close the game to 40-28. That comeback by Geelong was halted by a 7-2 run to end the term by Sydney, who led 47-32.

Geelong started the half on a 6-2 run to close the margin but scores by Morris and George settled the Flames. Another bucket by the latter, created by a crafty pass by Swain, was followed by triples by young guns Deas and Pitman, to keep the lead in double-digits. Free-throws by those two gave Sydney a 13-point lead at the final change.

Geelong closed the margin to just seven after a 6-0 start to the period but another timely triple by George stemmed that. A step-back jumper by Swain followed before an altercation between Morris and Froling saw both players issued with technical fouls. Swain and Hayley Jones exchanged scores for the two sides, as the hosts again closed to within four (76-72), after outscoring Sydney 17-8 through the first 6.37 of the fourth. Taylor showed plenty of composure in the next few minutes, including a clutch triple, before Pitman and Brancatisano hit shots from the charity stripe, to extend the lead to 81-74 with just over a minute to play. In the final minute, strong defensive plays secured the Flames their third straight win.

Where the match was decided

Sydney secured the gutsy triumph thanks to statistical wins in field goal percentage (42-39), free-throw percentage (75-66), rebounds (45-41) and bench points (26-21)

Key moment

Although Geelong fought back to make it a two-possession game in the fourth quarter, a huge first term by the Flames, where they outscored their rivals by 13, laid the platform for their fourth win of WNBL25.

Player of the game

George produced another all-around game, tallying 16 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

The WNBL23 MVP also landed four triples, which saw her pass the 400 mark in her career.

The Australian Opal was well supported by Swain (21 points and seven dimes), Morris (12 points and nine boards) and Deas, who had a career-high 10 points.

Watch Guy Molloy and Bonnie Deas' post-game press conference via Sydney Flames' YouTube channel above. While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe, to ensure you never miss out on any of our great videos.

What's next

The Flames, who are now 4-4, now head to Townsville, to face the Fire on Wednesday, December 18 - which will be broadcast live ESPN from 7pm AEDT.

The next home fixture for Guy Molloy's Hoops Capital side is Sunday, December 22 against Adelaide, tipping off at 12.15pm AEDT at Quaycentre.

Tickets to the round eight clash, in which the club will celebrate Christmas, are still available here.