IT was a weekend to forget for the Swan Hill Flyers, with both men’s and women’s teams suffering losses to the Mildura Heat on Saturday night.
For the third week in a row, the men lost a game they arguably should have won, going down by seven points in a see-sawing encounter at the Hothouse.
It was the third consecutive loss by seven points or less, the losses making an inaugural finals appearance appear less and less likely – and slowly defining their season as one of what could have been.
After a competitive opening quarter, the Flyers let the game slip in the second period, with Mildura allowed to pile on 23 points to 13 and take an 11-point lead.
With the match in danger of slipping away, the Flyers responded after the main break, pressuring their opponents into constant turnovers and taking full advantage by reducing the margin to just three points.
The final 10 minutes became an arm wrestle, with the game only breaking open in the final minutes through Mildura’s Tarryn Shaddock, who scored a vital basket in the paint in the dying minutes.
Shaddock then iced the match with a clutch three-pointer to claim victory 89-82.
Matthew Gardner led the way for the Flyers with an enormous 29-point display, while Lachlan Somerville (16 points) and Alex Erlandson (14 points) were the only other Swan Hill players to register double digits. The men were in ninth position on the Country Basketball League North West division ladder, with one win and four losses.
In the women’s encounter with the Heat, the Flyers faced a tough outing.
The more experienced Mildura side handed out a basketball lesson, winning by 58 points.
With Tess Denham again missing in action, the Flyers were up against it from the outset – the home side dominated the opening half, 48-13.
While the Flyers fought back in general play in the third period, they were still outscored 18-12, before the floodgates once again opened in the last term as the home side run out comfortable 93-35 winners.
Zoe Morris was Swan Hill’s leading point scorer for the night and was the only player to register double figures, with 12 points.
The Flyers will again hit the road this weekend, with both teams set to face off against the Echuca Pirates on Saturday night.
