Mincy can’t mastermind road victory
A career-high 30 points from JCU Townsville Fire championship winner Laurin Mincy was not enough to mastermind a road victory over Bendigo.
A key contributor in the Fire’s title run last season, the WNBA draftee exploded into action as she eclipsed her previous best by half-time before finishing five-of-eight from beyond the arc.
Despite Mincy’s hot hand, the Fire slumped to a 67-75 loss and their title defence is now hanging by a thread.
The @JCU Townsville Fire square off against the UC Capitals for the first time in 2018/19 this Sunday! Pre-purchase your tickets to our Christmas blockbuster via —> https://t.co/tCCkqcoTXW #FireUpTownsville pic.twitter.com/rMesCqZEhs
— Townsville Fire (@TownsvilleFire) December 18, 2018
Young gun Zitina Aokuso (12 points and six rebounds) was the only other Fire player in double figures, with the starting five registering just 16 points between them.
The Fire host the UC Capitals at Townsville Stadium on Sunday and can ill afford any further hiccups from here if they wish to continue their play-off streak into a ninth consecutive season.
“We were expecting a battle,” Fire coach Claudia Brassard said.
“Credit to them, they came out with a lot more intensity than the last time we played them – they really smacked us on the boards – but you’re not going to win many games when the rebound count is 47-28.”
While the Fire made a slow start, Mincy’s outside shooting was able to claw them back into the contest as they reduced the margin to 20-23 at quarter-time.
In the second term, the Fire went up a gear as they went on a 13-0 run to flirt with a double-digit lead.
Triples to Mincy, Ally Malott (seven points and four rebounds) and Casey Samuels (five points and four rebounds) doing the bul of the damage.
In the second half, however, the Fire struggled on the offensive end as the Spirit restricted them to just six points in the third quarter alone.
They began slowly again in the last, and while Mincy did her best to haul her side across the line, they could not fine enough contributors to run with her.
The Fire host the Capitals from 3pm on Sunday at Townsville Stadium.
Click here to see full box scores between the Fire and the Spirit.