Spirit stun Fire to keep finals hopes alive
Bendigo have stunned reigning WNBL champs Townsville Fire on the road to keep their finals hopes alive.
The Spirit stormed home in the second half, outscoring their opponents 49-23, to record an emphatic 93-60 victory – the team’s fifth win on the trot to jump to third on the ladder.
Speedster Ally Wilson led the way with a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points, including 15 in the first half, to go with 10 rebounds and two assists.
Captain Kelsey Griffin made it consecutive double-doubles after a dominant milestone game against Canberra on Thursday, reeling in a staggering 14 rebounds to go with 21 points and five assists.
Alicia Froling (12 points and eight rebounds) continued to impress in her return to the starting five, while Casey Samuels was important off the bench with 11 points including three triples.
The Spirit kicked into gear midway through the opening term with three buckets in a row to open up an 11-8 lead against the highly-fancied Fire.
Leading 19-17 at the first change, Bendigo’s buffer grew to as much as nine in the second term as Ally Wilson began to heat up with her second three-pointer of the contest.
Sami Whitcomb helped cut the margin back to a solitary point late in the half before another burst from Bendigo had the score at 44-37 at half-time.
From there it was all the visitors with Griffin’s 10-point third term inspiring her side to a memorable win at Townsville Entertainment Centre.
Next up is yet another must-win clash against Perth Lynx at Red Energy Arena on Saturday which will determine the finals fate of both teams.