STELLAR START TO THE SEASON
The Fire flew out of the blocks in the WNBL season opener putting the league newcomers to the sword in Geelong. Facing off against her twin sister Keely, Alicia Froling scored Townsville’s opening points before feasting on more buckets. The new look squad gelled early in offence despite several players suiting up together for the first time. The visitors held a 17-24 quarter time lead.
Nya Lok landed a treble when the teams returned to the court, increasing the margin to double digits. She hit another and a scored from inside the perimeter before half time, with all her 8 points for the game coming in the second period. The scoreboard read 34-48 at the main break.
The Fire stepped things up in defence in the third quarter, restricting Geelong to just 9 points. Co-Captain Lauren Mansfield slotted 8 of her own after following up back-to-back triples with a pair of successful free throws. Import Zia Cooke knocked down 3 foul shots in the final play of the quarter to make the scoreline 43-71.
A Lauren Cox lay-up early in the final period produced the Fire’s biggest lead of the contest. 31 points the difference between the teams before United fought back to win the last period as Townsville took its foot off the gas. Shannon Seebohm’s side securing an impressive 58-84 away win, with plenty of room to improve.
Star Performers:
Alicia Froling finished as the game’s highest scorer and top rebounder falling agonisingly short of a double double after dropping 17 points and pulling down 9 boards. She finished with a shooting percentage of 75, while defensively the forward produced 4 blocks and 2 steals in a brilliant all-round performance.
Lauren Cox was also highly effective on both sides of the ball. The import produced 4 blocks of her own and all 6 of her rebounds were defensive boards. Cox Claimed 12 points and dished out 4 assists in offence.
Zia Cooke got straight to cooking when she entered the game. The American finished with 15 points having hit baskets in every quarter. The import’s impressive tally coming from just 23 minutes of court time, with the late arrival still settling into her new club.
What Was Said:
Alicia Froling
“This coaching staff, these girls are so fun to play with and everyone’s really bought in.”
“Our strength is our team, everyone contributed really well, I think that we can get better which is really exciting.”
Zia Cooke
“I just told my teamamtes the game was definitely easier than practise. They’d been going at me all week getting me prepared for moments like this, so I’m definitely excited to be here.”
“I love these girls work ethic, I think that we’ve got a lot of dog in us and yeah you’ve got to have that dog in you, and being here, they’re definitely going to bring that out in me.”
Shannon Seebohm
“I’ve just had a lot of fun so far coaching this group they’ve really bought in to what we’re trying to do.”
“We’ve got some really exciting young players, like I thought Abbey Ellis did a great job Nya Lok came in and really contributed.”
“We defended really well and all in all I thought it was a great first hit out.”
Looking Ahead
The Fire now head back to Townsville with a strong first win under their belt. They’ll look to carry this momentum into their next game, where they head west next week for another mid week game against the Perth Lynx , you can catch this game at 8:30pm QLD time on ESPN.
The Fire will then be at home for their first home game of the season, where they will take on competition favourites the Bendigo Spirit.
Tickets available here. >>>