Townsville Fire are in the box seat to claim their second WNBL championship in four years after they beat Perth Lynx 88-79 to go 1-0 up in the grand final series.
Townsville’s coach Shannon Seebohm had spoken of the strong rivalry between the two competition heavyweights and, on Thursday night, both teams showed why.
With 27 lead changes occurring, tensions ran high inside a deafening Townsville Entertainment Centre, with much of the first half locked in a one-possession game.
But it was 10 minutes of third-quarter magic spearheaded by captain Courtney Woods (10 points in the period) that broke the physical clash open as Townsville won the quarter 24-10.
Leading by 11 points at the final break, Townsville withstood Perth’s desperate offence to move within one win of their first title since 2023.
Woods was the game-defining player, firing her first 20-point-plus performance in a month with 22 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Human highlights reel Miela Sowah was also busy against her old team, registering 20 points while Alicia Froling continued her hot finals form with 17 points and seven boards for the winners.
Victory came despite Townsville having five fewer days to prepare for the clash after going to a game three against the Southside Melbourne Flyers, while the Lynx completed their semi-final series against the Bendigo Spirit in two matches.
But the Fire will have to get better at keeping Perth’s towering superstar Han Xu under wraps after she posted 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
Her performance came after Townsville used pool noodles to recreate the 211cm star’s wingspan during the week.
Four other Perth players produced double-digit performances, with Amy Atwell’s 19 points and Anneli Maley’s 12 points, 15 boards, and three steals major.
But it was the Fire’s dominance of the paint (29 two-pointers made, 15 offensive rebounds) that hurt the Lynx’s chances.
Coach Ryan Petrik will have to work out a solution if they are to win game two on Sunday and keep their hopes of securing a championship for the first time since 1992 afloat.
Both teams broke free of their early nerves, going tit for tat as Ally Wilson bucketed seven points to help Perth lead by two points at quarter time.
Maley’s rebounding was prolific (nine boards by halftime) as the Lynx opened up a six-point deficit midway through the second period.
But Townsville wrestled back momentum, going on an 8-0 run before Perth replied with a 7-0 spurt to increase their advantage to 45-42 at halftime.
The Fire produced an 8-2 spree after the break, and, compounded by Woods’ pinpoint shooting, they ballooned their lead to a game-high 13 points midway through the third period.
Perth cut the deficit to five points late in the fourth quarter, but Townsville held strong to emerge victorious.
