IT took a good old-fashioned bake from coach Marg Lind to wake the City West Falcons from their first-quarter slumber before they beat the Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 44-35 on Wednesday night.
After a lacklustre opening, the Falcons trailed 2-7 early in the first quarter, when an Ariels’ time-out allowed Lind to act.
“I gave them a blast. We were a bit complacent. I noticed during the warm-up the girls were a little casual, and Yarra came out hard,” she said.
“I told them a few home truths, and they responded. They pulled their finger out.”
Lind was also a little surprised to see her daughter, goal attack Maggie Lind, judged best on court, despite shooting only 12 points with 57 per cent scoring efficiency.
“I wouldn’t have given her the votes,” Lind laughed. “She actually said to me: ‘How did I win best on ground?’
“She didn’t get the votes in our team. Her last-quarter stats hurt her. I think she shot two from seven [attempts].”
However Lind praised her work further up the court.
“She feeds [goalshooter] Kath [Knott] better than anyone. However her work ethic in bringing the ball down court was very good,” she said.
Knott maintained her spot in the top bracket of the hot-shot award, netting 30 points with 80 per cent accuracy.
Lind said she would let the Falcons have a rest this weekend, cancelling their court and weights sessions, before their round 15 match against Ballarat University.
Victorian University Western Lightning defeated Ballarat University 49-34.
