WNBL Finals: The JCU Townsville Fire advance to the Cygnett WNBL Grand Final Series
The Fire made it 14 wins in-a-row as they held on to the lead against the Perth Lynx to win, 91-84.
The Lynx went into the game needing a win to tie the series against the Fire and started the game off strongly with both teams going basket for basket. Sami Whitcomb looked to have her eye in early from beyond the arc for Lynx, as well as having the ball on a chain with Lauren Scherf who was converting under the rim.
Lauren Nicholson brought energy for the Fire in first quarter, quickly adding 11 points to help the Fire to 5-point lead at the end of the first term. Tianna Hawkins stepped up for the Fire in the second quarter, adding 12 points to her tally, while Shyla Heal brought poise as the playmaker off the bench.
The third quarter belonged to Robbi Ryan as she showed tremendous grit and determination for the Lynx and helped to tie the game 61-61 at the 7-minute mark of the third term. Ryan converted from beyond the arc early in the fourth to give the Lynx their first lead of the game, however, Heal’s conversions on the offensive end disrupted Perth’s momentum.
Heal splashed 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Fire to their 14th win in-a-row and book their spot in the Cygnett WNBL Grand Final Series to chase their fourth title in the league.
Top performers:
- Sami Whitcomb (Perth Lynx): 26 pts, 7 ast, 3 reb, 1 blk
- Tianna Hawkins (Townsville Fire): 23 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk
- Chloe Bibby (Perth Lynx): 18 pts, 7 reb
- Lauren Nicholson (Townsville Fire): 15 pts, 7 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl
Game assets:
The next WNBL showdown will see the Southside Flyers host the Melbourne Boomers in Game 3 of their Cygnett WNBL semi-finals series on Wednesday 15th March at 7:30pm AEDT at the State Basketball Centre. The game is set to be a physical showdown as both the Flyers and Boomers want to advance to the Cygnett WNBL Grand Final Series against the Townsville Fire.
Fans can tune into all of the WNBL Finals action via ESPN, with select games also available on 9Now.