Dazzling in pink
TOWNSVILLE’S NBL1 North teams will swap their traditional blue and gold colours for a distinct pink look tonight in their home clashes with Darwin Salties.
The eye-catching jerseys will be auctioned off to raise money for Brighter Lives, the official charity partner of the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.
Multiple-time WNBL champion and grand final MVP Mia Murray and her Flames teammates will take to the floor at STARFM Stadium from 6.30pm on Friday as they look to keep their undefeated start to the season alive. Sitting on top of the women’s ladder after a perfect 3-0 start the veteran sharpshooter said her side still has plenty of room for improvement.
“We had quite a short pre-season with everyone on the court so we are still trying to iron out a few wrinkles in our offence,” Murray said.
“We’re also focusing on picking up on our rebounding game because we are undersized so we really need to be on that every game.
“Our biggest issue is our lack of height but once we come up with a style of play to combat that I think we’ll be okay. It was a super physical game with Darwin last time, right from the get go and I expect them to come out and do a similar thing this time round.
“While we’ve had a good start to our season, we’re still not satisfied with where we’re at.”
While the Flames enjoyed a great round last weekend with wins over South West Metro and the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, the Heat dropped both of their games to the same opposition and are desperate to bounce back.
Young swingman Richard Peachey missed the Heat’s overtime loss on Friday night through illness before returning on Saturday for the team’s loss in the NBL1 Wildcard Challenge.
The Queensland under-20s star is averaging 20 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first season as a starter for Townsville and he will look to build on his 24-point showing when the Heat took down the Salties in Darwin in Round 2.
“It was really tough watching the guys last Friday, I was sitting at home pulling my hair out not being able to help them and contribute to the team,” he said.
“It was a tough loss but we’re still pretty happy with our start to the year and I think we’ve really made teams take notice.
“I’m really enjoying being straight into the action from the get-go and I really like playing besides Bettsy (Ethan Betts) and Taine (Wattie) in that starting unit.”
The Flames hit the court at 6.30pm before the Heat at 8.30pm, with tickets available at www.trybooking.com/ events/landing/867697.