The Swan Hill Flyers have ended their Country Basketball League season empty handed, after both the Men’s and Women’s teams suffered losses to the Mildura Heat on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Flyers were no match for their northern rivals, going down by 28 points – 68 to 40.
Like many of their games this season, Swan Hill started well, matching it with the finals bound Mildura for the opening ten minutes to trail by just four points at quarter time.
From that moment on the Heat took complete control, outscoring the Lady Flyers 19-6 in the second period.
Things didn’t get much better for the visitors after half time, with Mildura extending their lead by a further seven points in the third term to take a comfortable 24-point lead into the final break.
The game then opened up in the final ten minutes of the Lady Flyers season, with both teams scoring freely as the ball moved quickly from end to end.
Demi Wall capped off a fine season and was the leading scorer for the Lady Flyers with 13-points, while Amy Jobling next best for Swan Hill with 9-points.
The Men’s Flyers didn’t fare much better in their encounter with the Heat, going down in a disappointing final performance 89 points to 66.
Needing to win by a significant margin and have other results to go their way in order to sneak their way into the playoffs, the Flyers found themselves behind the eight ball from the start, with Mildura dominating the first half to lead at the main break 43 points to 28.
With their backs against the wall, the Flyers came out hard to start the third period – but the Heat were equal to the task, outscoring Swan Hill by a further nine points to take an unassailable 24-point lead into three-quarter-time.
With the sting now out of the game, both teams coasted to the end of their seasons, with the Heat eventually recording a 23-point win.
Hugh Broad led the scoring for the Flyers with 16 points, while Matthew Gardner (14), Zac Denham (11) and Lachie Gardner (11) all registered double figures.
While the season may not have ended with their first finals appearance, the Flyers could still be well pleased with their efforts in season 2021-22, with a five win, four loss season seeing them finish in sixth position and end the year with a winning record.
