Improved showing but Slammers struggles continue

Improved showing but Slammers struggles continue

 

The South West Slammers may have lost another game in their 2016 season but it was at least a more encouraging performance from Julieanne Bissaker's girls tonight against the Mandurah Magic, in what was League Legend Casey Milo's 400th SBL game.

 

Although again outgunned on the court and the scoreboard, the South West outfit played with improved determination and endeavour despite their 90-43 loss against the Mandurah Magic. 

 

The Magic were well led by their import duo, Adijat Adams and Annette Davis who both dominated inside and proved a too formidable a task for the Slammers to contain. Adams (25 points, 14 rebounds) was the star of the first half, while teammate Davis (22 points, 10 rebounds) finished the job with a solid second half. The Magic's size resulted in multiple offensive rebounds and second chance points that never allowed the home team any realistic chance of applying scoreboard pressure on their visiting opponents.

 

Unfortunately for the Slammers, even the addition of former Lakeside Lightning small forward Courtney Bayliss was not enough to solve their continued struggles on both sides of the court. 

 

South West struggled to hit multiple open looks through the game and their inexperience meant that turnovers also became a hurdle that did not help their cause. 

 

A more competitive second quarter from the home team saw them only outscored by five points, closing the first half at 45-28 in the Magic's favour. 

 

However, there was not much else to cheer about on return from the half time break as the Magic poured on the points and applied additional defensive pressure to hold the Slammers scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of the third before a pair of Raya Thompson free throws broke the scoring drought. The Magic had previously gone on a 12-0 run with Annette Davis snaring the majority of the spoils after four consecutive low post scores that effectively blew the game further apart.

 

More of the same was to continue in the final quarter with the Magic continuing their inside dominance and defensive pressure that forced turnovers from their younger opponents, resulting in instant offensive dividends. At the conclusion of regulation, it was a 90-43 victory for the Magic.

 

For the Magic, the post duo of Davis and Adams were well supported by stalwarts Rachel Halleen and Bree Klasztorny. Despite a quiet game by her normal standards, Casey Milo would be well pleased with such a dominant victory on her 400th game. 

 

For the home team, Brittany Gliddon top scored with 13 points while young post Taylah Kemp worked hard for her 10 points. However, it was again the lethal combination of poor shooting, turnovers and lack of size that again continues to haunt Coach Bissaker and her staff. Though the girls' application can't be faulted, having a distinct lack of depth, experience and match winners in their roster means that every possession of every game is no certainty. 

Article by Vlad Alava

Photo by Mick Cronin




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