Sydney duo Alex Wilson and Leilani Mitchell made clutch shots in crunch time to lead the Flames to a 91-82 victory over the Dandenong Rangers in game one of the best-of-three grand final series at Brydens Stadium on Saturday.Wilson posted a team-high 22 points and drained a key three-pointer when the Rangers threatened to take the lead in the final minutes, while Mitchell scored 10 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter.Flames front-court pair Jennifer Hamson and Asia Taylor combined for 30 points, as Sydney took a 1-0 lead heading into Friday's game two in Dandenong.Sara Blicavs tallied a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds for the Rangers, while Stephanie Cumming had 16 points, six assists and five rebounds.Sydney trailed by two at half-time and took a 69-68 lead into the final period.The Flames are in their first grand final series since 2008 and chasing their first title since 2001.Dandenong are in their first grand final series since claiming the championship in 2012.Hamson and Taylor got the home team away to a strong start with a collective 15 points in the first period.Rangers guard Cumming was productive with six points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals, but the Flames' hot shooting set up a 26-22 quarter-time lead.Dandenong turned up the defensive heat in the second period, forging ahead 33-32 and forcing Sydney coach Cheryl Chambers to burn a time-out.The Flames had more turnovers (eight) than assists (seven) a few minutes out from half-time and the Rangers made them pay, stretching the margin to five.Blicavs shouldered most of the scoring load for her side with 14 points in the first half, while the Flames relied largely on Wilson (15) at the other end of the court.Blicavs nailed a jump-shot in the closing seconds to give her team a slender 48-46 half-time lead.Both teams showcased their offensive firepower in a high quality first half - Sydney connecting on 57 per cent of their shots and the Rangers 55 per cent.The lead changed hands six times in a rugged third period before Wilson made a difficult shot to put the Flames up 69-68, setting the stage for a tense climax.Sydney pulled ahead by five with eight minutes remaining, only to see the Rangers draw level at 74-apiece.The Flames didn't panic, closing with a 17-7 run to claim a hard-earned triumph.Game three, if required, will be played in Sydney on Sunday, March 19.
Chambers expects an intense battle in game two.
"They're a quality team and they've been together a long time, so they'll bounce back in front of their home crowd and we'll have to play a lot better defence than we did tonight," Chambers said.
"We gave up nearly 50 points in the first half so we certainly have to make some defensive adjustments.
"It doesn't surprise me that we play well in close games like that because we've won a lot of close games."
Rangers coach Larissa Anderson said her team had their chances.
"It only felt like a couple of points, not nine," Anderson said.
"Our games with them all season have been pretty much identical, but they just showed a bit more poise down the stretch and we didn't execute.
"Overall, we did a pretty good job but we went through a few patches where we just didn't get it done and execute the way I know we can.
"I'm proud of the girls. It's a three-game series and it gives us a chance to respond at home."
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