HIGH FIVE FOR FIRE
HIGH FIVE FOR FIRE
Bring on the battle in the west between the WNBL’s two in form teams. Townsville takes on Perth twice this week with both sides carrying impressive winning streaks heading into Wednesday night’s clash. The JCU Townsville Fire came under threat in Sydney on Sunday as it did against Canberra on Friday night but once again managed to get over the line, for a fifth straight victory.
The Flames doubled Townsville’s total in the first quarter but the after giving up 26 points, the visitors tightened up defensively leading into half time and after the break, conceding just 28 points across the next two periods. Flames forward Rachel Maenpaa could feel the hosts being suffocated.
“They made some adjustments on defence obviously, We didn’t get the ball flowing as much and our offensive became quite stagnant.”
A 32-14 third quarter blitz gave the JCU Fire breathing space, which was needed, with the hosts mounting a fight back, but they failed to reel in the deficit, 78-82 it finished. Krystal Leger-Walker (10), Mikaela Ruef (10), Zitina Aokuso (11), Karlie Samuelson (14) and Tianna Hawkins (15) all hit double figures in a team effort at Qudos Bank Arena. Steph Reid played limited minutes in her return to action, after missing 2 games with a back injury. Meanwhile Lauren Nicholson should be fit to face the Lynx after sitting out the Sydney showdown.
The captain’s anticipating a finals like contest with both sides trying to cement a place in the playoffs. The hosts haven’t lost since suffering a 98-85 defeat at the Fire Pit. They’ve won 7 straight games.
“They’re a really good side, especially offensively. Sami Whitcomb she’s obviously one of the best guards in the country and everyone knows that, so we’re going to have to be locked in especially playing over there because it’s a really hard place to play. But yeah, I think it’s better to just go over once for an extended amount of time and just knockout out the 2 games.”
You can the WNBL’s game of the week on ESPN or the NINE NOW App, or follow score updates on the club’s social media pages. Tip off is at 8.30 Qld time.