Semi Finals Preview – Lynx v Fire Game 2
The Perth Lynx need to beat the Townsville Fire twice in four days to advance to the WNBL Grand Final but returning to Far North Queensland holds no fears after winning there on the last two visits.
The Lynx beat the Fire at Townsville Entertainment Centre in Game 1 of last year’s semi-final series and then also won at the same venue in overtime to close this regular season to secure second position and home court advantage for the semi finals.
The semi-final series got underway at Bendat Basketball Centre back on Saturday evening in a tight affair where the Lynx were in front with a three-pointer to Ally Wilson with two minutes to go which gave her 32 points in the game.
However, Townsville were able to finish the better from there to secure the 92-87 victory to take the one-nil lead in the series now ahead of the Wednesday night match up for Game 2 at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.
What that means coming into Wednesday’s Game 2 is that Townsville has the chance to win on their home floor to move into the Grand Final against either the Bendigo Spirit or Sydney Flames.
The challenge for the Lynx is to win in Townsville and then to bring the series back to Perth on Saturday for Game 3 with that contest to end up determining which of the two teams gets to a second Grand Final series in three years.
While the Lynx had lost nine straight matches against the Fire ahead of their semi-final meeting last season, they won in Townsville in Game 1 before closing out that series in Perth to move into a second Grand Final appearance in three seasons.
Then this regular season, the teams split their two meetings in Perth but the Lynx prevailed in an overtime cracker thanks to an Alex Ciabattoni three-pointer just before the buzzer to mean they have won on their last two visits to Townsville.
The Lynx will now be looking to make that straight wins on the biggest road trip in the league and to do so they will need to start the game better than they did on Saturday.
Townsville scored the last nine points of the first quarter to be leading by 11 at the end of one before still leading by seven at half-time and then being out to a game-high 14-point advantage during the third quarter.
However, Perth turned things around impressively and in that third quarter ended up delivering 30 points on 6/8 three-point shooting, and then by two minutes to go they were in front and had all the momentum.
The Fire did finish on a 7-2 run to claim the victory with the Lynx needing to improve on those starts in Game 2 along with needing their 41 per cent field goal shooting rising as well as not losing the rebound battle again.
Lynx coach Ryan Petrik knows that given his and Townsville’s coaching staff are so familiar that ultimately it comes down to the players like this.
It was Ally Wilson and Nia Coffey who delivered standout performances for their respective teams in Game 1 and Petrik is looking for more of his big-time players to fire in Game 2.
“At some point you know the chess match between the coaches will stop and it will turn over to the players between these two teams, and they’ll decide who ends up winning,” Petrik said.
“The players have to make the big buckets and in that game it was Ally for us and Coffey for them. They both carried their teams and we thought we had them right where we wanted them but then Coffey would make an incredible play.
“And I’m sure in fairness to Townsville they thought similar and then Ally would make an incredible play for us. That’s what your big-time players are there for.”
Wilson had a brilliant Game 1 performance for the Lynx with 32 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals on 9/14 shooting from the field, 3/5 from downtown and 11/14 at the foul line.
She is confident that the Lynx can go up to Townsville and win once again on Wednesday and tidy up the things needed from Saturday’s loss.
“We feel confident going into their gym to get a win. We’ve just won there obviously and even last year we did as well up there in the semi finals. We’re excited going into a do-or-die game and we can’t wait,” Wilson said.
“We definitely have to start better and it will come down to our energy and effort on defence. I think that’s the key for us so we can get out and run a little bit more, but the good thing is a lot of the stuff is energy and effort.
“It’s very changeable and it’s not like we don’t have the talent, it’s just about energy and effort particularly on the defensive end. That will be the key.”
CYGNETT WNBL FINALS 2025
Semi Finals Game 2 – Perth Lynx v Townsville Fire
Venue – Townsville Entertainment Centre
Tip-off – Wednesday February 26, 4:30pm AWST
How to watch – Live, free and on demand on 9Now and ESPN