In a game that was close from the beginning, the Sydney Uni Sparks had the edge at every break. But the Nunawading Spectres stayed within arm’s reach, sent the game into overtime and came out on top with a 76-72 win over the home side.
It was a hard fought game for the young Sydney Uni side, playing their first SEABL home game in the club’s history. However turnovers proved to be their downfall, with Nunawading scoring 20 points directly off the Sparks errors. The Sparks also gave up too many offensive rebounds, leading to multiple second chance points for the visitors.
Coach Karen Dalton said after the game, “It was a disappointing loss but a great learning experience for our young group. We will continue to work hard at practice this week and I’m sure we will improve on these things for next weeks game.”
In just their second game together, there were a few positives to come out of the game. The Sparks shot 41% from the field, finished the game with 20 assists and played some great defense in patches.
Susi Walmsley finished with a team high 16 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. Shanae Greaves also contributed some great minutes with 13 points and 6 rebounds and Maddie O’Hehir added 13 points.
Marena Whittle was too strong inside for the Spectres finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
WNBL star Tahlia Tupaea will make her debut for the Sparks this weekend, which will add some extra fire-power to the home side as they take on Canberra on Saturday night.
Credit: http://wnbl.com.au/sydney_uni_news/sydney-uni-sparks-fall-overtime/
