THE Mandurah Magic women celebrated Shelly Boston’s 400th game in style with a one-point win in a tight contest against the bottom-placed Lakeside Lightning last Friday night at the Lakeside Recreation Centre.
The victory lifts the Magic to third place with nine wins and three losses.
Boston, 38, has been playing in the SBL for 22 seasons and has represented three teams.
Boston’s career started in 1992 when she played for the Rockingham Flames and she has been in the SBL for every season except for 2003-04.
In 1998, Boston made a move to the Wanneroo Wolves for one season before returning to Rockingham.
In 2009 Boston went to the Mandurah Magic and has been there ever since.
Boston sits in fourth position for the most WSBL games played behind Sue Williams (512), Tracey Richter (409) and Tanya Kelly (402).
Coach Randy Miegel said Boston had become a good role model for the girls since coming to the club.
“I think her minutes have gone down but when she comes on the court she makes an impact,” he said.
“Her main roles are to rest Peyton [Davis] and Ash Sidebottom but her role can change week to week.
“She’s a good role model for the girls because she also has her family and her own business.”
The Magic come up against the second-placed South West Slammers (12-2) who are coming off a loss against the tenth-placed Perth Redbacks (2-9).
The team boasts the fourth-best scorer in the league, Deanica McCormick, who averages 19.3 points per game, and West Coast Waves and New Zealand international Kate Fielding.
McCormick is also the competition leader in assists per game with 5.4, with Magic guard Casey Mihovilovich second with 4.7.
Miegel expected the game against the Slammers to go down to the wire.
He also said he was happy with the way the Magic had been shooting in the game against Lakeside.
“We didn’t play too bad offensively,” Miegel said. “We were a little bit better, our field-goal percentage and free-throw shooting was pretty good.”
The Magic escaped with a victory against Lakeside with Courtney Byrnes missing two shots for the Lightning.
Ashlee Sidebottom was the standout for the Magic with 25 points while Mihovilovich was the only other Mandurah player in double figures with 22 points.
Miegel said he had been impressed with Sidebottom’s form.
“She has had a really good past four weeks,” he said. The loss means Lakeside is now entrenched to the bottom of the table with just one win from 11 outings.
