NSW SWIFTS set to soar at home in sell out match
NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds
1:30pm, Sunday 15 June @ SOP Sports Centre
(LIVE on FoxSports AEST @ 1:30pm)
Round 11 ANZ Championship
The NSW Swifts will take the court against the Queensland Firebirds in front of a sellout (4,200) home crowd this Sunday in a crucial Round 11 match of the ANZ Championship at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.
The last time the NSW Swifts faced the Firebirds was in Round 6 when tall timber, Romelda Aiken shot the Firebirds to a 14 goal victory in front of a parochial Queensland crowd.
This time, however, the NSW Swifts are prepared for Aiken and her Firebirds team mates, having gone to extraordinary heights in their bid to claim victory on Sunday.
Recognising a need for her defensive line up to develop methods for handling taller than normal shooters, NSW Swifts coach, Julie Fitzgerald, enlisted the help of Hornsby basketballer, Rhys Murphy at a training session last week.
“Rhys has proven to be an excellent training tool for us. His height is very similar to that of Romelda who caused us some problems in the circle in our Round 6 match,” said Fitzgerald.
“Not only do we need to be smarter in the defensive circle, but we also need to ensure we have good hands and pressure all the way up the court to ensure that the feeders don’t have easy access to the shooters.”
The NSW Swifts are currently in a bottle neck in second place with the Thunderbirds, Firebirds, and Vixens, all on 12 points.
For both teams the win is crucial to maintaining their place on the ladder, with the inaugural ANZ Championship on the line and finals only four rounds away.
Fox Sports Broadcast of the match:
LIVE, Fox Sports 3 NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds 1:30pm (AEST), Sunday 15 June
Important Note:
Doors open: 11:15am (this is a revised time)
Pre-Game Entertainment: Sapphires Metropolitan Squad v Southern Sports Academy
Round 11 (all local times)
LG Northern Mystics v Adelaide Thunderbirds Saturday 14 June 2:30pm(NZ)
NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds Sunday 15 June 1:30pm (NSW)
SKOPE Canterbury Tactix v Suzuki Central Pulse Sunday 15 June 5:30pm (NZ)
Melbourne Vixens v Waikato BOP Magic Monday 16 June 7pm (VIC)
Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v West Coast Fever Monday 16 June 7pm (NZ)
