Human Torch Amy Atwell’s scorching response to Opals snub
Lauren Jackson’s international retirement may not be final.But it was another WNBL star who put her best foot forward after being overlooked for the Opals.
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The Human Torch has burnt down Southside.
Perth’s flame thrower Amy Atwell poured in nine three-pointers — seven in the first half — in a devastating display of grand final marksmanship that put the Lynx on the brink of its first WNBL title since 1992 — and left Southside staring down the barrel of back-to-back straight sets grand final failures.
Less than a week ago, everyone marvelled at the GOAT Lauren Jackson and wondered if she had a fifth Olympic campaign in her.
On Sunday, it was Atwell who staked her claim for Paris with a 30-point explosion in a 101-79 game one win over the Flyers.
The effort came just a few months after the 25-year-old was surprisingly left off the 20-player selection squad for the Opals’ recent Olympic qualifiers in Brazil — and on the back of a season where she finished second in the league in scoring and was the No. 1 three-point shooter in the WNBL.
Post-game, Atwell wasn’t ready to bask in the glory, just yet, paying tribute to her teammate’s work in containing Southside but conscious of the Flyers’ ability to hit back in game two.
“Everyone knows we want to run and shoot lots of threes but I think our kryptonite all year has been the defensive end,” Atwell said on the WNBL broadcast.
“Super proud of the girls for locking in on the scout and getting it done on the defensive end.
“We know Southside’s a great team and they’re going to make adjustments.”
Run and gun Perth did exactly what coach Ryan Petrik said they would — and exactly what Southside expected — but the Flyers were powerless to stop them, especially once Atwell ignited, her teammates feeding off her heroics to combine for a ridiculous 22 three-pointers in the contest.
Truth be told, the game felt over after three minutes and 45 seconds in, when Southside coach Cheryl Chambers called time-out down 9-0.
Any effort to stem the bleeding proved futile as the Lynx drilled 60 first-half points and led by 23 at the long break.
So often the aggressor, star import Aari McDonald took a back seat to the Atwell show, acting as instigator with 10 assists to go with her 15 points, while Maley was in everything, with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The presence of Lynx giant Emily Potter was also vital. The Canadian didn’t score a point until the last quarter and missed all five of her shots but ripped down 10 rebounds and provided a contest for the Flyers’ monster frontline.
Pre-series, Petrik said he’d live with Jackson’s elite play, provided the Lynx locked in on her teammates. The GOAT still got hers — 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks — but most of that impact came from the outside, where she feasted with five makes from six attempts.
The problem for Southside was only fellow tower Mercedes Russell (12 points, 8 boards, 3 blocks, 2 steals) went with her as breakneck Perth ran the Southside perimeter players into the ground.
The Flyers have made a habit of bouncing back but face a monumental task reversing the result on Thursday against the fittest and quickest team in the league, in front of a hostile Perth crowd that sold out in 24 hours.
WHY GOAT MUST BE PART OF PARIS GOLD MEDAL BID
If Lauren Jackson is healthy, the 42-year-old must go to Paris for a remarkable fifth Olympic campaign.
As she pursues a sixth WNBL title with Southside, the ageless Jackson — still among Australia’s best players — admits her “I’m done” international ‘retirement’ during the Opals Olympic qualifiers in Brazil was fuelled by the emotion and mother’s guilt of being away from her two young boys Harry and Lenny.
So, a week after she left the door open on another WNBL campaign — and post a vintage 38-point semi final demolition of Melbourne Boomers that booked the Flyers a date with Perth in the grand final — Jackson says she’s not quite done yet.
And, while a Paris tour would mean the boys come as a package deal, Basketball Australia has confirmed it will make that happen, if and when she’s picked in Sandy Brondello’s team.
Kids are great truth tellers and so, as the GOAT dropped Harry, 7, off at her parents in Albury before February’s trip to Brazil, his words had a profound impact.
“Harry said some things to me that really hit home and I felt great mum guilt,” Jackson said.
“I was missing Lenny’s first day of school and Harry’s birthday that week and again, Harry said to me as well, ‘mum, you missed my first day at school last year, as well’.
“I was shattered and, having to get on the plane and go again, yeah, it was really hard.
“I did break down. Even (Opals assistant and Flyers coach) Cheryl (Chambers) was like ‘I’m worried about you getting to the airport, we’re just going to come and pick you up’.
“There’s a lot of stuff that a lot of parents would feel.”
BA had been open to the boys travelling to Brazil but the situation in Belem was deemed a security risk and it was decided they needed to stay at home.
Jackson admits she’s surprised herself — and maybe the odd doubter who said she couldn’t make it back after a pair of serious leg injuries — and, with that monster Boomers series (26 points per game), there’s a glint of “I’m really back”.
“The reality is I’m actually starting to play good basketball and I’m not injured,” Jackson said.
“I will play NBL1 and my mind is turning over, how am I going to do this (Paris)?
“I’m on the road with She Hoops for all of April, there’s a warm up schedule (ahead of the Olympics), so I need to get my head around all of that.”
First, though, Jackson and her Flyers teammates have a game-one grand final date on Sunday afternoon with plucky Perth, who snuck into fourth and then KO’d top side and reigning champion Townsville in straight sets.
The Fire knocked off Southside in the grand final last season and, while we’ve been deprived of a rematch, that still burns for captain Bec Cole.
“We all know the job’s not done, we need to come locked in, I felt this pain last year of getting all the way here and then losing and I’m not bloody doing that again,” Cole said.
“I watched those two Fire games back the other day to feel that (pain again) and take that into our finals series.
“You do anything to get in these moments. I’ve believed from the beginning of the season that we do have the best team, we now need to stay locked in and show it.”
The concern of being forced off their State Basketball Centre home for renovations and playing their finals on the Melbourne Boomers’ home court in Parkville has subsided, with Cole more frustrated for Flyers’ fans, most of whom are based in the east and south east of Melbourne.
“I don’t quite understand it and I don’t think it’s fair, especially for our fans, because playing at Parkville is not close for them,” Cole said.
“We played Boomers there and we said ‘we’re going to make this our home’ and we did.
“You don’t love that we’re not here but we can’t control that.”
WNBL Grand Final
Best of three series
Southside Flyers (2nd) v Perth Lynx (4th)
Game 1: Sunday, March 10, 3.30pm, Melbourne Sports Centres, Parkville
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