'Maybe keep your mouth shut': WNBL star Cayla George unleashes in wild post-match interview
Australian basketball star Cayla George has slam-dunked on the naysayers, telling "certain individuals" after the Southside Melbourne Flyers' semi-final win: "Maybe keep your mouth shut."
The Flyers lost the first game of their WNBL semi-final series against the Townsville Fire 88-60, but hit back with a 109-89 victory on Wednesday night to force a decider.
After the game, in which a dominant George racked up 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, the 36-year-old unloaded on those who had written off the Flyers in the lead-up.
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"The disrespect's been pretty loud and clear," George told presenter Jessica Robinson in an on-court interview broadcast on ESPN.
"It's not very nice to hear, but again, the outside noise doesn't mean a whole lot within our bubble.
"So we just had to really lock in tonight ... Look, they're not an easy team to beat, let alone beat at home in Townsville, and that's why they have home-court advantage, right?"
Cayla George of the Southside Melbourne Flyers celebrates sinking a three-pointer on Wednesday night. Getty
Robinson commented that the Flyers had fought back with a terrific response, and noted they relished the underdog tag.
"We like to have our backs against the wall, don't we? We tend to do all right when we're in that scenario," replied George, a three-time Olympian.
"The outside noise is always going to be there with whatever team you play for, but it's been real loud and clear [in this series], and certain individuals time and time again [have been] preparing for a Townsville-Perth series. That's all well and good."
George's rant then got particularly spicy.
"Hey look, it might be that series," she said.
"That's the beauty of basketball; there's one more game to decide it.
"So maybe until that game's played, maybe keep your mouth shut."
Flyers star Maddy Rocci didn't go quite as hard at the critics as George, but she was first to tee off.
Maddy Rocci in action against the Townsville Fire in game two of the semi-final series. Getty
"To hear what people have to say, I think it just fires you up a little bit more, to be honest," said Rocci, who took out player of the match after chalking up 24 points and 11 assists.
"I mean, I'm not someone to listen to outside noise, but to hear what people had to say, and to have a little bit of disrespect [for] the group that we do have and the performance that we know we can play at, I think it fires up the group so much."
Rocci and George were interviewed together.
The former began to smirk as George warmed into her rant, and was in hysterics by the time the hammer blow dropped.
Southside Melbourne and Townsville will square off in the deciding match of their semi-final series in Townsville on Sunday afternoon.
Either the Flyers or Fire will then take on the Perth Lynx in a best-of-three series set to determine the WNBL champions.
