Post game wrap up Vs Bendigo
Just shy of 2400 fans filled the Fire pit for Townsville’s first home game of the season and they were treated to an exciting game of basketball between the league’s top 2 teams.
Bendigo bounced out of the blocks but separate 3 point plays in different ways from Abbey Ellis ensured the home side stayed in touch. The point guard dropped another 2 baskets early in the second quarter second quarter while bigs Alex Fowler and Lauren Cox contributed 10 points together, as Townsville trailed by the narrowest of margins at half time.
Momentum as with the women in orange and they hit the front for the first time. Zia Cooke continued her impressive offensive display with a pair of clutch threes. The hosts failed to capitalise se on their dominance though, multiple missed opportunities to stretch their advantage opened the door for a Spirit resurgence. The visitors jumped out to a 62-69 lead but the Fire fought back. Buoyed on buy a loud crowd, Townsville tied the game with a minute and a half remaining. Former Fire captain Sami Whitcomb hit a dagger for the league leaders out of their time out and an Opal Marianna Tolo’s extinguished the Fire with a bucket and bonus from the foul line.
Player Stats:
Zia Cooke scored a Townsville team high 18 points with half of her total coming from triples. The import took a number of tough shots, she finished the game with a 46% field goal average.
Lauren Cox claimed a double double. The American collected 13 rebounds to go with her 11 points. The forward frustrated herself from the foul line though missing 5 free throws from 10 attempts. She did however produce another 3 blocks in defence taking her total to 11 from just 3 games this season.
Alex Fowler was efficient off the bench. An impressive 83% field goal average saw her deliver 11 points in 17 minutes of floor time.
What Was Said:
Shannon Seebohm believes battling Bendigo early in the season will be something his youthful side can build from despite the result. Though Townsville’s coach also admitted the game was there for the taking.
“And this where you know a young team versus a team of veterans. That third quarter we was in the balance and I felt like we could have taken the game and blown it apart, and we missed a lot of easy lay ups and they went to a zone and we didn’t handle that great. And then on the other end we just played really passively and gave them a lot of easy stuff to keep them confident and going.
Courtney Woods felt knows the hosts hurt themselves, especially in offensive.
“We were definitely shooting ourselves in the foot, I think when we were making mistakes it wasn’t really to do with Bendigo it was more just us, we missed a lot of lay ups we missed a lot of free throws so that’s to do with us.”
The co-captain credited her sides fightback and insisted the spectators also played their part in Townsville taking the game to the wire.
“Yeah it was awesome playing at home we’re really grateful for all those fans for coming out but it’s also a massive credit to all of the administration so many people put in so much effort time and money into putting those games on.”
What’s Next:
Townsville ‘s first double header for the season in in round 4. The teams travels to Canberra to for a Capitals clash on Thursday night, then is a shot turn-around into hosting Adelaide on Saturday night. Tickets for the home game against the Lighting are available to purchase here.