Malott hitting her stride
TOWNSVILLE Fire import Ally Malott believes she can become a consistent scoring threat as she settles into her role with the defending WNBL champions.
Malott was averaging 3.8 points per game off the bench as she battled for minutes in the Fire’s frontcourt alongside Suzy Batkovic, Darcee Garbin, and Zitina Aokuso.
The 192cm power forward spoke of her desire to contribute more on offence before the road trip to Adelaide a fortnight ago and she has proved it wasn’t just talk.
Malott has soared in the past two matches, dropping 14 points in a tough loss to Melbourne before contributing 13 in last weekend’s overtime victory in Bendigo.
The Ohio native was still modest about her role.
“There’s always room for improvement, but hopefully I helped the team with a good couple of buckets,” she said.
“We had a lot of people step up, recognise their role, and how that role can help us start to win games.
“I think any time you can grit it out after overtime, especially on the road, it helps our confidence.”
Malott joined the Fire this season fresh off having won the Latvian title with TTT Riga, but the former Dandenong Ranger had a slow start back in the WNBL as she recovered from foot surgery.
Coach Claudia Brassard said the Fire were reaping the rewards for their patience with Malott.
“We didn’t want to rush her back so we weren’t dealing with modified training the whole season,” Brassard said.
The Fire have a return clash with Bendigo at Townsville Stadium tonight and the Spirit need a win to keep the series alive after last weekend’s overtime thriller.
Malott expected Bendigo come with a point to prove.
“They’re definitely a physical team,” she said.
“I think every game you go in expecting bumps and bruises, but I think we know the scout and hopefully we can execute it out again.” to