Wildcats go back-to-back over the Hawks

Details
Perth Wildcats 94 defeated Illawarra Hawks 80
Box Score
WIN Entertainment Centre
27 January 2022

Summary
With slow starts the talk of the week, the Perth Wildcats again found themselves down by eight points early but this time were able to make it a one-point game at the first break. The second quarter replicated the first, with Illawarra able to open up a 10-point advantage before, once again, the Wildcats clawed their way back on the back of a monster first half from Bryce Cotton. Illawarra regained the lead midway through third, but from their the Wildcats dominated the game on the back of a big second half from Vic Law. The home team threatened at the midway point of the fourth, but Perth were too strong – finishing with a convincing 14-point win.

Reaction
Scott Morrison on the result
“Always happy to get a win, there’s no easy ones. I don’t think we were perfect, there’s always room for improvement in what we’re doing out there but at the end of the day the guys laid it on the line, they locked in when it counted, we got off to a better start which was nice and did a real good job playing together as a team.”

Bryce Cotton on chemistry with Vic Law
“It’s just basically built on good habits, and obviously we have a lot of games that streak together pretty close, so that helps us build our rhythm. Just as much as we focus on the good things, we have to fix those same kinks, because some of the same mistakes we make carry over from game to game. Once we fine tune those things we’ll be in much better shape.”

Player focus
Bryce Cotton had a game-high 28 points after 20 in the first half to go with six rebounds. Vic Law had 24 and eight boards. Todd Blanchfield had a phenomenal +/- of 30 in 25 minutes of court time, scoring 14 points on three of four threes in the process.
Matt Hodgson had his best game for the Wildcats with four points, four blocks, four rebounds and an assist.

Key stats and facts
The Wildcats shot the ball at 52 per cent, to Illawarra’s 37. Perth out-rebounded, out-assisted and out-blocked their opponents. In fact, Perth blocked 10 shots for the first time in eight years.