The Mandurah Magic have their brooms out and are eyeing a sweep of the Rockingham Flames in their crucial game two clash at the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Friday night.
The Magic upset the Flames in a stunning game one victory, and now have the chance to close things out with a potential win moving them on to the second round of the playoffs.
Meanwhile Rockingham will be keen to fire a shot after getting whipped in game one, and will head into the second clash of the series with their entire season on the line.
It’s awkward territory for the Flames, who finished the season in third compared to Mandurah in sixth, and Magic coach Randy Miegel is expecting them to up the anti for game two.
“We can’t go in thinking it’s going to be a replay of game one,” he said.
“We’re going to have to be on our toes – I expect Rockingham to come out firing and if they’re hitting shots they are a very hard team to stop.
“We’ll try and fight fire with fire and match that intensity.”
Looking back
Mandurah took to game one with a tough mentality and a physical approach paving their path to a win.
They pulled down an insane amount of rebounds, finishing with 67, and caused a bunch of turnovers while keeping their own offence relatively efficient.
Casey Mihovilovich’s five steals and Emma Klasztorny’s 17 rebounds played huge roles in the victory, and the squad will be looking for similar output as they try and close out the series.
The stars
Who had the hot-hand for each side in game one?
Well, almost the entire team for the Magic, but specifically Klasztorny (10 points, 17 rebounds), Regina Palusna (22 points, seven rebounds), Anita Brown (18 points, eight rebounds) and Mihovilovich (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals).
Maddison Allen was the only Flame to really get going in the game with 11 points and 17 rebounds, but the Magic will need to remain on their guard against some of Rockingham’s stars in game two.
D’Lesha Lloyd went for just 12 points in game one but remains a dangerous scoring averaging 22.5 points per game across the season, while Taneisha Harrison has the ability to put a poor game one behind her.
The fixture
Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre
Friday, August 10, 7pm
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
