Perth Lynx coach Ryan Petrick admitted his young team got a huge reality check after the 73-48 extermination by Townsville in tonight’s opening game of the WNBL season
The Lynx had a precarious build up until the season after superstar Sammy Whitcom pulled out and starter Maddy Allen pulled out of their knots, while superstar Alex Ciabatoni suffered an ankle injury and had to pass a fitness test to play limited minutes tonight
That left Perth with newcomer Alex Sharp and teenager Taya Burroughs in the starting line-up, 20-year-old Emma Clark who played for 19 minutes, while development player Joel Williams was pushed onto the field in the first quarter.
Petrick said: « We were concerned about how many young players we had and how they would be under the bright lights. »
« We had so many kids that you should be able to stick to your plan when things go wrong Do you have the flexibility to stick to the plan when the other team gets an easy set or two? We walked away from it very quickly »
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Australian Opal Darcy Garbin top goals for Lynx with 12 points, while Sharp showed her competitive nature with 11 rebounds, but most of the team struggled.
Lynx’s ex-husband Shyla Heal and Nadeen Payne were great for Townsville, with Heal scoring 15 points while Payne scored a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Despite the nature of the loss, Petrick was confident that nerves played a greater role in the loss than a lack of talent and that tonight was not a sign of things to come
He said, “We had 22 pre-season training sessions, and we filmed them all and never seen that before”
« If this was an 8/10 match for us and we lost a lot, then I’d be really concerned obviously there are still fears but I don’t know what this team is. I’ve never seen that during the pre-season »
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Women’s National Basketball League, Perth Lynx, Townsville Fire, Kayla Stindel, Mackay, Clint Stindel, University of Canberra Capitals, Lauren Nicholson, Adelaide Lightning
World News – Australia – Lynx in Blown off the field in a WNBL editorial
