Dandenong exact WNBL grand final revenge against Sydney Flames
THE Sydney Flames have missed the opportunity to head the WNBL ladder as Dandenong finally avenged their grand final series loss last season in a two point thriller.
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THE Sydney Flames have missed the opportunity to head the WNBL ladder after four rounds as Dandenong finally avenged their grand final series loss last season in a two point thriller.
The Flames were beaten 70-68 by Dandenong, a club which had won just two of their first five matches heading into Sunday’s match in Melbourne despite finishing runners-up to Sydney last season.
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While the Flames have proved masters of the great escape in recent weeks, their luck ran out against Dandenong.
“We certainly had our chances,” said coach Cheryl Chambers after her side slide down the ladder to third place.
“And we certainly missed Katie (Ebzery) out there. The last minute was a bit of a roller coaster.”
Trailing by just a point in the final minute, star import Asia Taylor unusually missed two crucial shots from the foul line.
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“She’s pretty upset about that but we shouldn’t have been in that position anyway,” Chambers said.
“We were pretty disrupted without Katie and we had to try new things. Some worked and some didn’t.”
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Ebzery injured her ankle during the Flames’ 65-56 win over Melbourne Boomers on Friday night.
Taylor starred on the stat sheet with 24 points and six rebounds with Flames captain Belinda Snell and Alex Wilson both chipping in 11 points.
The Flames trailed 19-18 at the first break against Dandenong before leaving the court at halftime level at 35-35.
A big third period saw the Flames outscore Dandenong 25-19 and put them in the lead heading into the final period.
The Flames have a quick turnaround with their next game on Thursday against Canberra in Sydney before a rematch in the ACT on Saturday.