9 October 2006
Aaron Scott
Karen Dalton’s half time rev-ups must be a sight to behold.
In the opening game of the WNBL season the GET Sydney Uni Flames looked a spent force at half time, trailing a rampant Townsville Fire outfit by 12-points. They had netted just four shots from twenty attempts while Townsville, by comparison, piled on 33 points with guard Tania Heritage slotting four triples in an incredible 15-point, 10 minute display.
But whatever was said at half time had an immediate impact. The Flames strung together an immaculate half of basketball, lifting their field goal percentage above 50, pegging back the Fire’s lead to eventually post an impressive 9-point, away victory over the early season favourites.
“It’s really hard to come up here and get a win,” said Flames coach, Karen Dalton. “I think we showed some really good signs. We had a bit of a hiccup in the second quarter but I think we played really well as a team in the second half.”
Flames forward, Nat Porter, was also quick to praise the collective performance of the girls. “It was a great team effort. I think a few of us scored in double figures and that’s what we want to keep doing.”
Despite the talk of ‘team’ performance, there can be no doubt that the Flames resurgence was built around the stunning play of Porter. She netted 24 points – including 11 in the final quarter – and claimed 13 rebounds. Although Alicia Poto (15 points), Mikaela Dombkins (10) and Michelle Musselwhite (10) turned in strong contributions, Porter was very much the frame around which the rest of the performance was built.
“I was happy,” she said of her performance. “I’ve been working really hard on getting fit and I think that showed.”
The game opened in scrappy style with both sides appearing nervous before a big Townsville crowd in the opening round of competition. The Flames limped to a unconvincing eight point lead at the first break before the Fire’s thunderous second quarter performance.
It gave the crowd brief cause for joy, before the Porter-led Flames gradually reeled in the lead. In the final quarter a flagging Townsville outfit were completely outclassed, landing just five from 18 as Porter embarked on a point scoring spree.
“We’re still evolving as a team,” said a quietly pleased Dalton after the match. “We’ve got some new players and Pottsy (Alicia Poto), Vealy (Kristen Veal) and Michelle Musselwhite who didn’t play much of last year. Without Belinda Snell and Trish Fallon obviously it’s going to take a little while to develop as a team.”
An away victory over the preseason favourites after trailing by 12 points at half time, however, must give Dalton confidence that this development is already well under way.