WNBL 2023: Townsville Fire claim title with 82-69 win over Southside Flyers

Townsville capped one of the WNBL’s greatest winning streaks in stunning fashion, romping past Southside Flyers to end a title march which started more than two months ago.

Dominant Townsville’s 16th straight win is undeniably its sweetest.

The Fire, unbeaten since January 5 — 76 days ago — poleaxed Southside in enemy territory to secure the franchise’s fourth WNBL title.

And the streak will be alive for at least another eight months before anyone gets a chance to challenge the champs.

Another elite showing from floor general and Opals bolter Steph Reid, who had 20 points and four assists was the catalyst for an even Fire team that relied on an army of bucket-getters — all seven rotation players with at least six, four in double digits — to outlast the plucky Flyers 82-69.

Townsville players during the presentations after their win.

The Flyers led by five with seven minutes to go and it looked as though they would extend the series, but the Fire, as they’ve done all season, found another gear and, in the space of three minutes a 13-3 run flipped the script, Tianna Hawkins’ nine-point final term explosion paving the way for the celebrations.

Hawkins, the explosive Washington Mystics forward, was named the grand final MVP after backing up her 20 points and five boards in game one with 18 points on 70 per cent shooting on Wednesday night.

Tianna Hawkins was named the grand final MVP.

Long-limbed Fire forward Mikaela Ruef’s intensity and will to crash the glass helped her record a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double, and led her team to a heavy 39-27 advantage on the boards.

Flyers livewire Bec Cole, who has waged her own one-woman war on the WNBL finals, was incredible in a losing effort, pouring in a game-high 26 points.

Blown away early on in game one, the Flyers showed more fortitude in front of their home fans but a 10-point opener from the towering Abby Bishop wasn’t enough to take an advantage into the first break as the even Fire rode buckets from all seven players to take the court.

Shyla Heal enjoys the celebrations.

Cole picked up where Bishop left off in the second quarter, potting 10 points of her own, including six straight to close the half and pull her team within two.

Her and-1 early in the third tied the scores up and then Kayla Thornton, who struggled with her shot in the first half, barged her way to the cup to give the Flyers their first lead of the night.

The Fire then countered with six straight, before threes to Sara Blicavs, then Thornton, nearly blew the roof off suburban Melbourne’s State Basketball Centre.

In a moon boot and under doctors orders to take it easy after surgery to both feet, basketball legend and Flyers gun Lauren Jackson stood on the bench for most of the second half, roaring for her teammates to dig deep — “Let’s go, baby, let’s go”.

But the gallant Flyers could not maintain the rage as the Fire stormed home to silence the 3000-strong crowd and take their crown.

The victorious Fire.

NO TIME TO HEAL AS FIRE RAGES THROUGH SOUTHSIDE

—Patrick Woods

The Townsville Fire’s incredible hot streak continued in game 1 of the WNBL grand final with an emphatic 94-63 win over the Southside Flyers.

The Fire Pit was surging with a season-high 3717 boisterous fans in attendance to watch Townsville dominate from the opening tip.

Townsville haven’t lost a game since January 5 and are now just one win away from securing their fourth WNBL championship.

Coaching in his second grand final, Fire coach Shannon Seebohm showed he is happy to lean on his big guns in big games, playing Tianna Hawkins for every minute of the first three quarters before giving her an early mark.

Hawkins continued to push her case for the team’s MVP, scoring 20 points in her 30 minutes of action.

Southside’s Rebecca Cole was a shining beacon of strength in a losing side, scoring 20 points at 75 per cent from the field and claiming four boards.

Heading into her fifth grand final as a WNBL coach, the experienced Cheryl Chambers will know that a series isn’t won in game 1 and she will surely have her team firing on all cylinders come Wednesday night.

Townsville’s habit of allowing leads to slip was nowhere to be seen as the Fire extended their lead at the end of each quarter.

Karlie Samuelson opened the scoring early with a signature three-pointer, followed by a long-range basket by Steph Reid.

That set the tone for the Fire as they burst out of the gates and shot to a 14-point lead by quarter time.

Shyla Heal was at her energetic best again for Townsville whenever on the court.

Rebecca Cole was the shining light for visitors Southside Flyers at Townsville Entertainment Centre. Picture: Emily Barker/Getty Images

Heal entered the game late in the first quarter and instantly got in on the action by draining a three-point shot — her first of three in the game without a miss.

The lively guard has been a revelation since joining the team mid-season from the Sydney Flames, and she has not lost a game since making the move.

Heal couldn’t be stopped as she rained 16 points of pain onto the Flyers in the first half, finishing with a game-high 23 points in just under 20 minutes of playing time — shooting nine from 10 shots from the field.

Seebohm cleared his bench once the game was locked away in the fourth quarter, giving the depth players in his squad a chance to experience the grand final atmosphere in front of thousands of local fans.

Townsville are now 10-2 at home this year and 20-4 overall on the season.

The two teams will face off again in four night’s time at the State Basketball Centre in Melbourne.

Originally published as WNBL 2023: Townsville Fire claim title with 82-69 win over Southside Flyers