Monday, 27th February, 2012

Sydney Uni came away with 1 win and 2 losses on the weekend in an exciting opening round of the 2012 NWBL in Dandenong.

The opening game against Perth Wheelcats on Friday night proved to be by far the toughest for the WheelKings as they went down 68-44.  Troy Sachs, in his first game in over 2 years, tried to get his mojo going but his accuracy was off with 8 of 23 shooting - still good enough to register a team-leading 16 points. Sydney Uni's defence was a little loose in allowing Perth to convert at 53% and the Wheelcats dominated the battle for rebounds 39-23.

However, where the WheelKings really struggled was on offence. After trailling by just 3 at the end of the first quarter, Sydney Uni had a disastrous second period where they managed just 6 points to Perth's 20, giving the Wheelcats an almost unassailable 17 point half-time lead. The only real scoring support for Sachs came from Josh Meoli who chipped in 10 points at 71% efficiency. The rest of the team combined for just 18 points which will not win you too many games.

Full stats:  http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/04/95/85/131mmplqhXGo/

 

The chance to make amends came on Saturday against RSL Queensland Spinning Bullets. It should have been a comfortable win as the Bullets were without their spearhead, former WheelKing and current Australian Roller, Bill Latham. Coach Hewson later lamented that his team simply took the game too casually and were subdued by a determined group of mostly youngsters who held on for the 53-50 win.

After leading by 3 at the half, Sydney Uni took their foot right off the pedal. Sachs inexplicably decided to be a distributor rather than a scorer, taking only 6 shots and registering as many points as he did assists (5). Kylie Gauci had a great game and led the scoring with 16 (62%) and was backed up nicely by CJ Grogan with 14. However, this was a game where the WheelKings were simply out-hustled and they didn't capitalise on the several chances they had to win. Scores were tied 50-50 with just over a minute remaining and Sydney Uni missed 3 crucial shots in the clutch. It was a tough loss but there was no time to dwell as the WheelKings' third game in 36 hours was coming up Sunday arvo.

Full stats: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/04/95/88/20KWo79KQxuE/

 

Adelaide Thunder was the final opponent and Sydney Uni finally got it together to win easily 84-45. Troy Sachs was back to his dominating best with 27 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists. He silenced the Thunder from the tip-off scoring 6 points in the opening minute and setting up a 20 point half-time lead. Adelaide never looked like getting back in the game as The WheelKings cruised to a confidence-building victory.

CJ Grogan impressed with his 20 points (63%), and Sarah Stewart had a good day with 9 points and 6 rebounds in just 23 minutes. Keegan Oh-Chee also got his scoring going with 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Overall, Sydney plundered the boards 45-28 and cashed in 32 points from offensive rebounds and forcing turnovers. It was a great way to end the weekend.

Full stats:  http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/04/95/91/39u0m3x6K42VM/ 

 

Sydney Uni head are back on the road in 2 weeks as they get the chance for revenge in a double-header against the Spinning Bullets. Even at this early stage of the season, these are must-win games if the WheelKings want to claim a place in the finals.

Make sure to follow the road games on Live Stats: https://websites.mygameday.app/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-4219-0-0-0&sID=72218

 

Photo of WheelKings versus Perth courtesy of NWBL