Southside Flyers were too big, too experienced and too good, beating Perth Lynx 115-81 in game three of the WNBL grand final series to clinch the championship. The Flyers had to do it the hard way just to get to the grand final, beating crosstown rivals Melbourne Boomers in three games in the semi-finals before Lynx blew them away in game one of the title series. Southside regrouped and its size and experience shone through as it got the series back on its terms with a thrilling game-two win in Perth on Thursday night. That took the series back to Melbourne for the decider on Sunday and the Flyers were never going to be denied as they romped to the 34-point victory on Sunday for the franchise’s fifth championship, and second since being rebranded as the Southside Flyers. The Flyers were able to get the game on their terms by keeping it at their pace to maximise their strengths, and they began to assert their control with the opening 10 points of the second quarter. Southside went on to lead 52-39 by half-time and then it was Carley Ernst who blew the game open for good late in the third period. She hit three triples in the space of two minutes. That saw the Flyers lead balloon to 24 points and the final quarter was party time with 42-year-old all-time great Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-1981) (12 points, six rebounds) winning a sixth WNBL championship and first since 2010. Her frontcourt partner Mercedes Russell (198-C-1995, college: Tennessee) had 13 points and 13 rebounds with Ernst backing them up with 15 points with those three triples. Jaz Dickey added 19 points, captain Bec Rebecca Cole (178-G-1992) 17, Maddison Rocci (169-PG-1998) 15 and Leilani Mitchell (165-PG-1985, college: Utah) 14 (six assists). It’s more heartbreak for Lynx, which for the second time in three years has won the first game of a grand final series, lost a heartbreaker at home and then been blown away in the decider in Melbourne. Its championship drought dating back to 1992 extends despite Amy Atwell (183-G/F-1998, college: Hawaii) finishing with 22 points and Aari McDonald (168-PG-1998, college: Arizona) 21. The defensive pressure it faced from the Flyers was highlighted with the pair combining for 12 turnovers.
Courtesy of: thenewdaily.com.au

Grand Final MVP: Mercedes Russell (198-C-1995) of Southside
Player of the Year: Jordin Canada (168-PG-1995) of Melbourne
Defensive Player of the Year: Lauren Nicholson (183-G-1993) of Girona
Sixth Player of the Year: Leilani Mitchell (165-PG-1985) of Southside
Youth Player of the Year: Jade Melbourne (176-F/G-2002) of Canberra
Coach of the Year: Shannon Seebohm of Townsville

First Team
Jordin Canada (168-PG-1995) of Melbourne
Jade Melbourne (176-F/G-2002) of Canberra
Lauren Nicholson (183-G-1993) of Girona
Isobel Borlase (180-G-2004) of Adelaide
Mercedes Russell (198-C-1995) of Southside

Second Team
Samantha Whitcomb (178-G-1988) of Townsville
Naz Hillmon-Baker (188-F-2000) of Melbourne
Amy Atwell (183-G/F-1998) of Perth
Aari McDonald (168-PG-1998) of Perth
Didi Richards (185-G-1999) of Sydney