'Fighting spirit' takes young Flyers to first victory

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Australian basketball legend Sam Mackinnon has recorded his first win as a WNBL head coach after Hannah Hank led the Southside Melbourne Flyers to a 91-77 comeback victory over the Tasmania Jewels at the State Basketball Centre.

The Flyers trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half before dominating the last two quarters 46-31 to build on their impressive opening game of the season, where they pushed championship contenders the Sydney Flames all the way.

Hank had 23 points, supported by Tess Heal (21 points), Sakima Walker (16 points), young gun Madi Ryan (14 points), and Chinese superstar Wang Siyu (11 points), to take down the Jewels on their home floor.

"I just thought the girls showed true fighting spirit tonight,” Mackinnon said in his post-game press conference.

“Down 14, I think it was, and then just to come back and grind it out, and I think we had a game plan that we stuck to.

"We're really starting to get a bit of cohesion out on the court... It's a great win."

Mackinnon praised Hank's performance, who came back from multiple hard falls, as the best player on the court.

"Hannah, it was just sort of nice to see the shackles get released," he said.

"She's such a thinker, and sometimes she probably gets a bit caught up in it. I think we're all just trying to, we're all learning each other, and I think the girls have been really supportive with Hannah, and it was just nice to see her get out in the break, finish some, see a three ball going.

"I think we smiled at each other. Like I just say, keep shooting it like you're open.

"I see the work she does at training, so it's going to go down."

Four players scored in double figures for the Jewels, led by Darcee Garbin with 19, while Australian Opals point guard Steph Reid had 15.

The Flyers back up against the Geelong Venom in Geelong on Saturday, but the Jewels don't play for more than a week.

What you need to know

• The Southside Melbourne Flyers beat the Tasmania Jewels 91-77 at the State Basketball Centre in WNBL27 Round 2.
• Tasmania won the first quarter 28-17 and led by 14 in the second, but the Flyers won the last three quarters 28-18, 29-16 and 17-15, coming from 46-45 down at half-time.
• Hannah Hank top-scored with 23 points on 7-from-11, including 8-from-8 at the line, and Darcee Garbin led Tasmania with 19 on 8-from-17.
• Tasmania took 70 shots and made 27. Southside took 60 and made 32, and the Jewels went 6-from-32 from three.
• Tasmania turned it over 14 times to Southside's eight, and the Flyers had 11 steals to four, which cancelled out the Jewels' 13 offensive rebounds to six.

Southside Melbourne Flyers

• Hannah Hank top-scored with 23 points, two steals and two blocks on 7-from-11, including 8-from-8 at the line.
• Tess Heal added 21 points and five assists on 8-from-10.
• Sakima Walker scored 16 points in 22 minutes on 6-from-7, including 2-from-2 from three.
• Madison Ryan had 14 points off the bench on 4-from-7, including 2-from-5 from three.
• Wang Siyu scored 11 points with three assists and two steals on 4-from-6 in 19 minutes off the bench.
• Haylee Andrews had a game-high eight assists, with four points and four rebounds.
• Lara Edmanson had two points and two blocks in 18 minutes.
• Southside shot 32-from-60 from the field, 6-from-21 from three and 21-from-26 at the line, with 30 rebounds, 22 assists, 11 steals and eight turnovers.

Tasmania Jewels

• Darcee Garbin top-scored with 19 points and six rebounds on 8-from-17, including 2-from-10 from three.
• Stephanie Reid added 15 points and four assists on 5-from-13, including 4-from-4 at the line.
• Brooke Basham scored 10 points on 4-from-9.
• Gianna Kneepkens had 10 points and three assists on 3-from-12 in a team-high 35 minutes.
• Ella Tofaeono had seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds on 3-from-4 off the bench.
• Mia Jacobs scored seven points with six rebounds, going 1-from-7 from the field and 4-from-4 at the line.
• Katie Deeble added five points and three assists on 2-from-7 off the bench.
• Tasmania shot 27-from-70 from the field, 6-from-32 from three and 17-from-22 at the line, with 31 rebounds, 13 of them offensive, 14 assists and 14 turnovers.