Spirit celebrate duo’s milestones in style

Bendigo celebrated the milestones of Kelly Wilson and Kelsey Griffin in style, defeating Canberra 85-77 on the road to keep their finals hopes alive.

Hard-working veteran Wilson (10 points and nine assists) fell one assist shy of a double-double as she became the first WNBL player to reach 450 games.

Captain Griffin, in her 150th game as a Spirit player, amassed a game-high 24 points to go with an equal game-high 11 rebounds in a dominant performance.

Griffin brought up 3500 WNBL points early in the contest as the Spirit got the jump on their opponents.

With Ruth Davis out, Alicia Froling came into the starting five and made the most of her opportunity with 23 points and five rebounds, shooting at 66 per cent from the field.

Ally Wilson contributed at both ends of the floor with 10 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds, while sharpshooter Casey Samuels hit two of three triples on the way to 10 points.

The win gives the fifth-ranked Spirit a positive win-loss record (10-9) for the first time this season after four victories on the trot.

Next up is a trip to North Queensland to face reigning champs Townsville on Sunday in another must-win clash.