3 minute read
Aimie Clydesdale stepped up when Southside Flyers needed it most as the they held off an Adelaide Lightning fightback to reach the WNBL grand final series.
A desperate Leilani Mitchell has propelled Southside Flyers to their first WNBL grand final since 2012 after sweeping their semi-final series with a nail-biting 82-79 win over Adelaide Lightning at Titanium Security Arena.
Mitchell (18 points, 9 assists) and Aimie Clydesdale (18 points) were ably supported by Rebecca Cole (19 points, 10 rebounds) as the Flyers survived a 46-31 second half from the Lightning on Saturday night.
It was a hot start by both teams with Adelaide import Kathryn Westbeld enjoying a nine-point opening quarter with Mitchell proving to be a handful for the Lightning guards with eight points of her own.
The Flyers held a 28-27 lead at quarter time despite a half-court heave on the buzzer from Lightning bench player Chelsea Brook - both teams shooting over 50 per cent from the perimeter.
The Flyers opened the second period with a 4-0 run before Lauren Nicholson hit back with five points of her own for the Lightning.
But the quarter belonged to former Adelaide guard Aimie Clydesdale who was perfect with three 3-point attempts to give the Flyers a 51-43 lead at the half.
"We had a luxury of Aimie coming off the bench, she could start for any WNBL side and we were really lucky to have her so it didn't surprise me she came out and played so well," Southside coach Cheryl Chambers said.
The visitors capitalising on 13 points from turnovers to set up their halftime advantage despite trailing 20-19 in the rebound count.
The Flyers started the third with the ascendancy before Stephanie Talbot and Brianna Turner sparked a 12-5 run.
A brace of blocks from Turner lifted the home crowd of 1806 as the Lightning surged back into the contest despite a Rebecca Cole three-point three-quarter time buzzer beater.
Mitchell triggered a 14-7 run for the Flyers in the series defining final term before Lauren Nicholson and her Lightning ended up falling just three points short.
"We won every statistical category that we could except the three-point line, they shot extremely well, we held them to 31 points in the second half ... we just needed a bit of luck and we could've taken it to game three," Lightning coach Chris Lucas said.
The Flyers are into their first grand final since they were the Dandenong Rangers and await the winner of the other semi between Canberra Capitals and Melbourne Boomers.
