Flames Fired Up For Trip To Cairns
The Townsville Flames season will go on the line against fierce regional rivals the Cairns Dolphins in their knockout NBL1 North quarter final at ‘The Fish Tank’ this Saturday night.
The clash is a rematch of their regular season finale last round, won by the Dolphins 82-75, although both teams played their cards close to their chest knowing that a finals encore was likely.
Flames coach Claudia Brassard was looking forward to the clash and insisted all the pressure was on a Cairns team that finished third to Townsville’s sixth in the standings.
“We’re just going to go have a crack,” Brassard said.
“Pressure’s all on them, they’ve been the better team all season while we’ve had our ups and downs.
“Everyone’s really excited, really pumped and we’re not carrying any injuries, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Brassard also took confidence from her team’s showing in that narrow regular season loss as the underdog Flames look to make a deep playoff run.
“Despite what happened in game one of the season, when they came here and belted us at home, it was nice to go into their court and show we could keep up with them,” she said.
“We’ve sort of quietly been preparing for them and making sure that everything’s coming together. We’ve been playing better and better as the season’s gone.
“Hopefully we’re peaking at the right time and ready to get them on Saturday.”
Central to the Flames’ hope will be US star Sam Bowman, who has been crucial for the Flames this season.
The standout power forward also has great playoff experience after guiding Rockhampton to last year’s NBL1 North crown, with Brassard full of praise for her efforts in her first year in Townsville.
“Sam’s got great toughness and I just I love coaching her,” Brassard said.
“She’s got this huge motor she runs, you know, I think she’s maybe had seven minutes of rest the whole season and she does a bit of everything for us.
“We ask her to match up against the other team’s import every week, then we ask her to grab 15 plus rebounds and score 15 plus points and she’s happy to take on that load.
“She’s really coachable, a great leader and really happy this season she’s had.”