Superstar American Tianna Hawkins’ clutch hook shot on the fulltime buzzer towards the Sydney Flames has secured top-ranked Townsville Fire’s tenth straight WNBL win, all however sealing a home-court benefit for the primary week of the finals.
After Sydney captain Keely Froling rejected Steph Reid then hit a jumpshot with 1.4 seconds remaining for the lead on the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Sunday, Fire coach Shannon Seebohm known as a time-out and drew up the final play.
Courtney Woods’ inbound go discovered Hawkins and the 2019 WNBA champion duly circled and transformed over rival import Jocelyn Willoughby for the 73-72 victory earlier than celebrating wildly.
The Flames, piloted by Froling (22 factors, 12 rebounds), had Townsville’s measure for big parts however the Fire, regardless of shedding Lauren Nicholson to a foot damage within the opening minutes, regularly had all of the solutions within the clutch.
This Saturday’s blockbuster between Townsville (15-4) and Southside Flyers (15-5) in Melbourne will probably decide the common season championship.
The Flyers locked in a top-two spot after sustaining their stranglehold over the Melbourne Boomers with a complete 81-67 triumph on the State Basketball Centre.
The Michele Timms Cup, awarded to the season victor of the Melbourne derby, was a whitewash as Southside romped to a 3-0 collection sweep – all by double-digit margins – over the reigning champions.
The Flyers led by as many as 24 factors, their front-court trio of Kayla Thornton, Abby Bishop and Sara Blicavs proving far too robust within the paint and on the boards, even with legendary captain Lauren Jackson sidelined.
Wednesday’s derby was Leilani Mitchell’s first recreation in 427 days and her first for the Boomers – her sixth WNBL membership – following the start of her daughter Elle.
Melbourne responded with an unconvincing 103-95 win towards the bottom-ranked Canberra Capitals on the National Convention Centre on Saturday.
MVP candidate Tiffany Mitchell (33 factors, seven assists, 5-of-7 three-pointers) was magnificent however the Boomers had been under their greatest for prolonged stretches.
They fell in a 54-44 halftime gap following a poor second time period earlier than answering with a match-turning 33-18 third stanza.
Meanwhile, Perth Lynx (11-8) entered the highest 4 for the primary time – and tipped Bendigo (11-9) out – after belting the wilting Bendigo Spirit 99-78 on the Bendat Basketball Centre.
Amy Atwell scored 22 factors, together with 6-of-10 triples for the Lynx, who’ve turned their marketing campaign round from a dire 2-5 basis.
It’s been a unique story for Bendigo, who began the season 7-0 however have misplaced their previous 5, by a mean margin of 20.
The Spirit’s finals cost is probably going over – they should beat Townsville on Wednesday whereas hoping Perth lose twice, to lowly Canberra and Adelaide.
On Friday, Sydney rode a 28-17 fourth quarter to a 101-91 victory over the Lightning at Quay Centre, Froling dominant with 30 factors.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
