The Sydney Flames slumped to their third loss of WNBL25 on Wednesday night, going down 78-54 to the Adelaide Lightning at Adelaide Arena.
Match summary
Mikaela Ruef opened the match's scoring with a tough two-pointer, which signalled a sign of things to come, with the Stanford alum converting six of the first eight for the Flames. But the hosts responded with an 8-0 run powered by Isobel Borlase. Japreece Dean then took the game by the scruff of the neck, pushing the pace and steering Adelaide to a 20-11 lead after one.
Tuff 'n' CONTESTED from @Ruefie3 😮💨
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- Sydney Flames (@TheSydneyFlames) November 20, 2024
The Lightning rattled off the first five of the second, which sparked a 9-3 run for the hosts - seeing the lead balloon to 15. Buckets by Cayla George, Isa Brancatisano and Ruef stemmed the flow of the game and forced Nat Hurst into a time-out. Strong defence by Brianna Turner then slowed the Flames' offence, seeing Guy Molloy's side only score 23 points in the first half, compared to Adelaide's 38.
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Despite Guy Molloy's side coming out of the break more determined, scoring four of the first six, that was short-lived as Steph Talbot helped the hosts move out by 21 points. But Ruef's continued strong game, complimented by Shaneice Swain ensured the Flames didn't die wondering on offence. At the end of three, Adelaide led 54-40 - with the visitors winning the term by one point.
In the fourth, a crafty bucket by Sherrie Calleia kept the Hoops Capital side's momentum going but back-to-back triples by Borlase put an end to that. Those shots from downtown sparked a 17-4 run for Adelaide. From there, Adelaide ran away with the game, outscoring the Flames by 10 in the fourth, to win the Indigenous Round match by 24 points.
Where the match was decided
Sydney suffered their third straight defeat after shooting just 27 per cent from the field, compared to 45 from the Lightning. The Flames also had more turnovers (14-9), which led to 19-4 points off turnovers and fast-break points to the hosts.
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Key moment
An 8-0 run early in the first quarter, which powered the hosts to a 20-11 opening term laid the platform for their first victory of WNBL25.
Player of the game
Ruef was the shining light for the Flames in the defeat, scoring 14 points, to go with 12 rebounds, one assist and one steal.
What's next
The Flames, who are now 1-3, now continue their road-trip by visiting Perth, to take on the Lynx on Saturday, November 23.
The Flames' next home game in on Saturday, November 30 at Quaycentre against Geelong for the first time - tipping off at 4.45pm.
Tickets to the round five clash are still available here.
