AFTER performing a Houdini act and leaving Shepparton with one of the Country Basketball League’s greatest escapes so far in the 2015/16 season, the Swan Hill Lady Flyers backed up their success on the road to shock the Wallan Panthers 60-55 at home on Sunday afternoon.
Down on the scoreboard, and at threat of falling behind — a situation that has plagued the Lady Flyers’ season so far — the home side’s defence rallied, allowing point guards Laura Anderson and captain Kelsey McCoy to begin scoring baskets.
The offence was benefited by a take-no-prisoners attitude displayed by the Lady Flyers as Wallan became frustrated in attack.
The agile Lady Flyers side wore down the big Panthers, opening space up at the top to allow the home side’s talented three-point shooters to do damage on the scoreboard.
After the match McCoy said she was immensely proud of the effort her side was putting in.
“We are pretty buggered after the last two days but I am so happy we have got two wins in a row,” she said.
“We came out strong, pressure was full on and we got the result we wanted … our hard work is really paying off now.
“It is always tough to back it up but our defensive pressure helped and then our offence just flowed … hopefully we can get a few more wins but we have a tough next few weeks.”
The Lady Flyers, who have been the perennial cellar dwellers this season, lifted themselves off the bottom off the table with three wins in 10 matches across their return season to the CBL.
The scoring opened up for the Flyers as Anderson scored a game high of 20 points, converting three three-point chances, as her mentor McCoy ended the match on 15 points.
The two guards were boosted by the scoring effort from Madeleine Jeans who picked up 12 points of her own.
Former Lady Flyers player and head coach Sharon Denham said the effort of her side was special due to the interchanging nature of her roster.
“We are pretty happy with these two wins, it is a nice reward because we have been so close and now the girls have the idea of winning, and doing those little things when it counts,” she said.
“I think the more games we play together the better we will become … but we don’t have the same line-up every week, but we do the best with what we have at the time.
“Defence has been the biggest difference [between winning and losing] and our pressure up the court is great.”
Although the Lady Flyers were rapt to score two upsets, Denham told The Guardian there was still work to do.
“We still had lapses in defence but the girls still keep plugging away and keep trying,” she said.
“I think we are on the right side of things at the moment, the girls are really keen and applying themselves now.
“It is always your goal when you play sport, to play finals, but we need to focus week-by-week, the old cliché.”
Despite his side’s tough loss on the road, Wallan Panthers head coach Warren Taylor said the Lady Flyers deserved the victory on the day.
“It was a tough loss but that is what road trips are about,” he told The Guardian.
“They are a good, fast team and we didn’t match up on them well at all … they shot the ball better than us, it was a physical game and we didn’t match up well.
“At the end of the day we have a big side, our strength is in size, but we ran out of gas trying to keep Laura Anderson and Kelsey McCoy out.”
The Lady Flyers will now prepare for their biggest test of the season — a clash with the Bendigo Braves away from home on December 13.
Swan Hill Lady Flyers defeated Shepparton Gators (Official scores were unavailable at time of printing).
Swan Hill Lady Flyers 60 (L Anderson 20, K McCoy 15, M Jeans 12) defeated Wallan Panthers 55 (A Darby 13, T Tuesley 11, G Jackson 7)
