An injury to WNBA import Alissa Pili has heaped more pain on Geelong, after new mum Lauren Nicholson led the Sydney Flames to an eight-point WNBL win over the Venom.
Pili went down with a badly sprained ankle midway through the second quarter of her WNBL debut after scoring a bucket and landing awkwardly at Geelong Arena on Saturday night as the visitors scored a 85-77 victory.
The Los Angeles Sparks forward lay face-down for a couple of minutes before being helped up and hopping to the sideline.
Geelong will also be sweating on the fitness of point guard Lilly Rotunno, who also suffered an ankle injury in the final quarter.
“She (Pili) is big-time. She’s a major scorer and she’s an amazing athlete, probably one of the most versatile athletes I’ve coached,” Venom coach Chris Lucas said.
“Now she’s got an ankle, so that could be a few weeks, I would think from the way it looked.
“They outplayed us in that first half, and we knew there was going to be pressure on the floor.
“I didn’t think we handled the pressure as well as I would’ve liked, and we’re going to get that every game now.”
The Flames produced a confident performance against the Venom, converting solid defence into razzle-dazzle attack.
Guard Nicholson was a game-defining presence, scoring 27 points in her first match back in the league after giving birth in April.
Against her old side, Keely Froling was also a big contributor for the Flames with a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds).
“I thought we put our stamp on the game there,” Flames coach Guy Molloy said.
“It is a hard-nosed team, and the girls’ effort at practice has been just outstanding for the last four to five weeks.
“We worked really hard at our reconnection and chemistry, and the girls did a great job of being connected tonight.”
For the Venom, Mackenzie Holmes (20 points, 11 rebounds) and co-captain Alex Sharp (14 points, 10 rebounds) also earned double-doubles.
Sydney started with a spring in their step, but the Venom began to match the Flames’ early accuracy, with Sharp converting.
Nicholson led Sydney’s charge in the second quarter, taking over the shooting duties and sinking some telling baskets.
After Pili went down, the Flames piled on the points, with Nicholson and Unique Thompson helping the side finish the half with a 48-30 buffer.
Rotunno and Sharp spearheaded the Venom’s third-quarter revival as they upped their defensive pressure.
A composed final-quarter performance led by Thompson helped Sydney see out the win, despite Holmes scoring eight points in the final few minutes.
