The WNBA returns to Australian screens this season – with a host of games LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
As the Mercury trailed with seconds to go, the Sky had a chance to extend a two-point lead before Brianna Turner grabbed the rebound and dished off a pass to Kia Nurse.
Nurse, who in 2019-20 while playing for Canberra became the first import to win the WNBL Most Valuable Player award, produced a jaw-dropping Eurostep half-court game-winner to give the Mercury a memorable 84-83 victory.
Brondello told SBS Sport the plan was for her to call a time out, but her new recruit had other ideas.
“I was really proud because they stayed together, locked in, executed what we wanted them to do and closed out the game. It was like ‘get a stop, get a score’ that’s all you need to work on. It’s kind of surreal, I’ve just downloaded the game and I’ll do some work on the plane (back to Phoenix) tomorrow,’’ she said.
“When you’re down by 10 with two and a half minutes to go and you find a way to grind it out and get the win on the road it’s special.
“It was good because our last two games, we should have beaten Vegas but our execution down the stretch was terrible and same thing against Dallas, we let them back in. So, it was good for it to go the other way, stay poised. It’s about making plays and some days it works and some days it doesn’t.”
In addition to her heroics, Nurse scored 18 points, had eight boards and dished out three assists.
“Kia’s been great. She’s really, really coachable and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her. She’s a great personality which we got to know in Australia,’’ Brondello says.
“She’s a real competitor. The last two games have been her best two games, so it was a really fitting reward for her. She struggled a little bit at the beginning but we needed her once Diana Taurasi went out.
“You know Kia’s going to get some shots and she needs to keep believing in herself.”
It’s been a hectic few months for Brondello with the tip-off of a new WNBA season and Olympic preparations amping up.
A four-time Olympian, Brondello will coach the national women’s team at an Olympic Games for the first time in Tokyo.
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“It’s been really busy. At one stage we lost a few games at Phoenix. I wasn’t getting sleep, I was stressing over making those last final Opals decisions, talking to my assistants constantly back in Australia,’’ she explains.
“I’m doing something I love, this is my passion so it doesn’t feel like a job.
“I love it, the highs and the lows. I like the challenges, I like winning, I’ll sleep better tonight than losing but I know we need to be better in the next game against Chicago to win.
“That’s the beauty of it.”
On Thursday, Chicago Sky traded Australian point guard Shyla Heal, their 2022 third-round pick and the right to swap 2022 first-round picks to the Dallas Wings for Dana Evans. Dallas then waived Heal.
The 19-year-old was selected by the Sky with pick 8 in April’s WNBA draft and played four games after making her debut last month.
Upcoming WNBA LIVE on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand
Friday, June 4
Chicago Sky v Phoenix Mercury
12:00pm – 2:00pm (AEST)
LIVE on SBS VICELAND and streamed LIVE via SBS On Demand
