Slow start costs Wildcats in Adelaide

Details
Perth Wildcats 74  defeated by Adelaide 36ers 87
Box Score
Adelaide Entertainment Centre
18 January 2022

Summary
The Perth Wildcats got out to a disappointing start and found themselves down by 16 at quarter time, and the deficit blew out to as much as 28 points midway through the second term. Adelaide were hot from long range and the Wildcats were struggling, making just one of their first 15 three-point attempts.
Led by Vic Law, the Wildcats began to claw their way back and after a buzzer-beating three quarter time triple from Kevin White, they were back to a single-figure deficit by the final break.
Perth were unable to capitalise on opportunities early in the final term and, in the end, the 36ers lead proved insurmountable.

Reaction
“I said all week we wouldn’t be looking for excuses out on the court, everyone’s been through some stuff this last month, COVID didn’t make any buckets for them or miss any block-outs for us, so that’s on us, so we need to live with the consequences and learn from it,” said Perth Wildcats coach Scott Morrison.

“I don’t think we came out with the effort we needed to to start the game, and we didn’t make multiple efforts defensively. We let them shoot uncontested shots and I think that helped get them going and build their confidence and everything becomes harder when that’s how you start the game. I thought our defence was much better for the last three quarters.”

Player focus
Vic Law was the Wildcats best with 16 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Michael Frazier II was solid with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Bryce Cotton added 12 points while Todd Blanchfield scored nine points in limited minutes in his return from a knee injury.

Key stats and facts
Adelaide were able to take the upper hand in the rebound count late in the game, coming away with 50 rebounds to Perth’s 49.
The Wildcats came away with seven steals to Adelaide’s 2.
Perth's shooting clip of 28.4 per cent was their second worst of the season. Their two worst shooting games have resulted in their two losses.
Mitch Norton finished the game with two assists which takes his career total to 700, while Bryce Cotton’s three dimes sees him surpass the 600-assist milestone for his career.

Next game
The Perth Wildcats are back in action on Saturday, taking on the Illawarra Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre.