Townsville Fire have stormed to the 2022/23 WNBL championship after coming from behind within the fourth quarter to defeat Southside Flyers 82-69 and full a 2-0 grand-final sequence sweep.
The Fire closed Wednesday evening’s sport two match-up at Melbourne’s State Basketball Centre with a 25-13 fourth-quarter effort to safe their sixteenth consecutive victory and cap their barnstorming run to the title.
Steph Reid (20 factors) and Grand Final MVP Tianna Hawkins (18 factors) led Townsville’s late-game cost to safe the North Queensland franchise’s fourth nationwide league championship.
“This team is the closest and the best group of people I’ve ever been with. I’ve just never played with a team that have genuinely got along so well,” Reid informed ESPN moments after the Fire wrapped up the championship.
Back on the scene of their thrilling one-point victory over native rivals Melbourne Boomers within the deciding sport of their semi-final sequence, Southside fell behind early however valiantly battled again to seize a five-point lead within the ultimate quarter.
But simply because it appeared the sequence would return to Townsville for a winner-takes-all sport three, the Fire surged to the entrance with a 9-0 run and have been by no means headed thereafter.
Captain Rebecca Cole’s 26-point haul was not sufficient to encourage the Flyers as their quest for a second championship in three seasons got here to a disappointing finish.
Southside seemed to the expertise of ahead Abby Bishop to supply an early enhance within the do-or-die conflict and the 34-year-old former league MVP delivered with 10 factors within the opening quarter.
But Shyla Heal made her presence felt by coming off the bench to hit a pair of long-range buckets and assist the guests edge forward 24-18.
Nyadiew Puoch sparked Southside initially of the second interval and with star Fire import Hawkins despatched to the bench with two fouls, the Flyers stepped up defensively and Cole ended the half with a flurry of baskets to chop Townsville’s result in 41-39 at halftime.
Cole’s scorching hand continued after the primary break as she capped a private run of 13 straight Flyers factors with a three-point play to stage the scores earlier than Kayla Thornton transformed a lay-up at hand Southside a slim lead.
But Townsville hit again by holding Southside scoreless during the last three minutes of the third quarter to take a 57-56 buffer and arrange an exciting conclusion within the ultimate interval.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
