Spirit lock in WNBL Grand Final berth
The Bendigo Spirit is in to their first Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Grand Final series in a decade, after overcoming the Sydney Flames – 91-74 – on their home court at the Quaycentre in Sydney.
However, despite the 17-point final margin, the Spirit didn’t have it all their own way, after coming up against an under-manned yet determined Flames outfit.
The Flames again headed into the games as underdogs – not only were they the lower-ranked team coming into the series, but they were 1-nil down in a best-of-three semi-final series, and – on top of a host of long-term injuries sustained during the regular season – were without their 2024/25 season MVP, Shaneice Swain, who sustained an injury during Game 1 in Bendigo on Sunday.
Despite all of these setbacks, it was the Flames who were fast out of the blocks in the first term, leaving the Spirit in their wake with a hot 31-23 first term. They were led by Tahlia Tupaea, who was already in double figures after 10 minutes of play, with 10 points to her name.
After being somewhat caught off guard by the Flames in the first term, the Spirit re-set in the second, dashing out to an 11-point second term lead before the Flames even hit the scoreboard. The Flames re-discovered their game somewhat, but it was a term where the Spirit were at their scintillating best, more than doubling the Flames’ output for the term (30-13) to go into the main break with a nine-point buffer.
The third quarter was the most even of the match, with the Flames pulling away initially before the Spirit pegged them back. A buzzer-beating three from Spirit captain, Kelsey Griffin, on the three-quarter time buzzer not only set the momentum for the final term, but saw the visitors cling onto a six-point lead with 10 minutes to play.
Continuing on the same way the third term finished, the momentum was all with the Spirit in the final quarter, as the Flames struggled to find the ring. An exhausted Flames line-up – who only had seven players take the court, with all of their staring five play 30+ minutes – could only notch seven points in the final term, which was no match for the Spirit’s 18 (a relatively modest quarter by their own standards). Whilst the final term showed the depth and experience of the Spirit squad, the final margin by no means reflected the intensity of the game.
Once again, Sami Whitcomb was named Player of the Game, notching another double-double which included 22 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal. However, it was Tupaea who was the top scorer on the court, with 24 points along with 2 assists and 2 rebounds.
In an impressive performance, all of the Spirit starting five reached double figures (Griffin – 15, Kelly Wilson – 14, Marianna Tolo – 14, and Veronica Burton – 12), whilst Casey Samuels was oh-so-close to the quintet, with nine.
Post-match, Spirit head coach, Kennedy Kereama, said he was thrilled for everyone involved in the club.
“It means everything [to reach the Grand Final], as for our group and our club and our community, this is why we do it – we want to play basketball at the pointy end [of the season] and we want to win a Championship.
“This group of athletes and players and people – the body of work they’ve done…I’m really happy for them. But this is why we do it, and now we get to compete for the big prize.”
The Bendigo Spirit will now turn their attention to the Grand Final series, where they will host the Townsville Fire in another best-of-three encounter. This will give the Spirit a shot at their first Championship since the 2013/14 season – where they ironically defeated…the Townsville Fire.
Game 1 of the series will be hosted at Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena on Wednesday 5 March. Tickets are now on sale via Ticketek.