WNBL finals: Townsville Fire braced for Perth Lynx to ‘come out swinging’
Shannon Seebohm has warned his team to be prepared for a physical battle on the eve Townsville’s most important game of the season. Read all about the game, including key match-ups and Kate Gaze’s take on the semis.
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Townsville coach Shannon Seebohm has warned his players to brace themselves for an early battering as Perth fights to avoid being knocked out of WNBL championship contention on Wednesday night.
The Fire were too strong for the Lynx in game 1, racing out to an early lead and holding off a late comeback push to claim a thrilling 92-87 triumph in the west.
But Seebohm cautioned against any complacency with the Lynx now firmly in must-win territory to keep their season alive.
“We know Perth are going to come out swinging, and it’s going to be a really intense and hard-fought game,” Seebohm said.
“We just need to be ready to have a hot start and hopefully we can go and get it.
“We’ve got to do more of the same. I hope we will make a few improvements in a few different areas, especially defensively, but I’m pretty happy with how we’ve played them both times.
“I think if we just have a little bit better game management at stages – particularly if and when we get a lead – I think we’ll be able to put ourselves in the driver’s seat.”
FIRE PIT’S THERMOS EFFECT: KEEPING COFFEY HOT
Minnesotan forward Nia Coffey saved her best performance of the season for finals, amassing a game-high 36 points to go with five boards in less than half an hour of court time.
Coffey said she was expecting another physical battle in the Fire Pit, revealing how much the passionate crowd can lift the team’s performance.
“I’m excited. I know we’re all really excited, we’re just looking forward to game time,” Coffey said.
“It’s going to be an intense game. I know there’s probably going to be a lot of energy in the building and just a lot of fights.
“We have to make sure that we can just focus on ourselves and surpass that energy and just do what we need to do.
“The crowd always helps us when the game’s getting hard or you’re getting tired – you keep that energy from the crowd, and they’re really invested, enjoying it, so that always helps.”
It has become a trademark feature of Townsville this season to have different players step up in each game rather than relying on any one or two superstars.
Coffey said it gave the entire squad confidence to step in and out of the action when necessary.
“Literally every single one of us can all go on the floor and just produce a lot of good stuff for the team,” Coffey said.
“It could be any one of us (who steps up), and I think that just shows our depth and just how dangerous we can be. I’m excited to see how we can bounce back and see who it is tomorrow.
“We’re just trying to fix some things defensively and make sure that we’re poised under pressure if it’s a closer game, just making sure that we just stay level-headed.”
MAINTAINING THE LEAD
Townsville’s last two games – both against Perth – shared many parallels.
The Fire rushed out to a big lead at the first break built off suffocating defence before the Lynx worked their way back into the arm-wrestle with outstanding shooting.
In both matches, Perth was able to hit the lead in the dying stages, ultimately resulting in one win and one loss.
Seebohm said better decision making down the stretch would help his team close out the game.
“Both games now, the last two games, we’ve had double digit leads in the first half and the second half, and managed to probably just make a few mistakes when we get to that point and that allows them back into the game,” he said.
“That’s going to be a key, hopefully we can do that again. But I’m sure Perth will be trying to come out and jump us at the start of the game, so (it’s) important we manage that well.
“I just think some better decision making in those moments will help us with that, and I think if we control the tempo well, then we’ll be in the driver’s seat.”
MANSFIELD’S VETERAN PRESENCE
Fire co-captain Lauren Mansfield was outstanding in game 1, shining during her 15 minutes on the court including a steely-focused cameo in the final minute to keep Perth at bay with some clutch free throws.
Seebohm said he was filled with confidence that his experienced guard could come on and close out the game.
“She’s a vet, she’s been in the league for a long time – probably a lot longer than I have,” Seebohm said.
“I had all the trust in the world in her and I knew she’d come in and steady the ship, and she made some big free throws for us that helped us get that game done.
“I think Abbey (Ellis) has been playing really well but it’s great that we’ve got Loz there who’s ready to step up whenever her number is called.”
Coffey said the players had full faith in Mansfield to execute whatever job is required.
“She’s a vet, she’s been in this league forever, and she such a great player,” Coffey said.
“She’s just that great leadership that we need, so it’s no surprise to us what she’s able to bring.”
SLOWING DOWN ALLY WILSON
While all of Perth’s players have the potential to pop off, containing Wilson after her 32-point performance in game 1 will be key.
“We obviously let Ally Wilson do a lot of damage in the last game, we put her on the foul line and she shot 14 free throws,” Seebohm said.
“It was very difficult, I think, to figure out what we needed to do differently defending her at stages – she’s a very aggressive player and makes a lot of contact.
“When someone’s willing to put her life on the line, basically, to go to the basket and run through someone and those types of things, we need to figure out what adjustment we make there to not pick up fouls,
“She shot 14 free throws, and that’s 100 per cent more than she shot in any other game this season. So obviously we’re doing something wrong there. I’ve got to figure that one out.”
KEY MATCH-UPS
LAUREN COX v LAETICIA AMIHERE
The battle of the North American imports will be unmissable entertainment for fans of both clubs. Amihere has led Perth’s scoring this season at a clip of 16.1 points per game and her aggressive style of play will be key to her team’s success.
The 186cm Canadian made five blocks in game 1 and the Fire need to find a way to play around her. Townsville’s own shot-blocking juggernaut Cox will be tasked with keeping Amihere quiet.
Cox has blocked more shots than any other WNBL player this season and she’ll be primed for another big performance in the paint.
ALEX FOWLER v ALLY WILSON
Fowler may have narrowly missed out on being named Sixth Woman of the Year, but she can still finish the year with the best prize of all: a championship ring.
The Townsville junior has established herself as the Fire’s go-to defensive star, with the ability to match up against any opponent one to five. She will need to be at her best to keep Wilson quiet after Perth’s import dropped 32 points in game 1.
Wilson’s biggest game of the year was almost enough for the Lynx to snatch victory and Fowler will have to pull out all her defensive tricks to prevent a repeat effort.
NIA COFFEY v ANNELI MALEY
Coffey also had her best game of the year in the first semi-final, scoring a season-high 36 points. The Lynx will be well-aware of the danger Townsville’s Minnesotan import poses and Coffey will likely be a focus of their scout. Maley could be key to limiting Coffey’s impact on the game with her impressive rebounding ability.
The Perth skipper is the WNBL’s finest rebounder, averaging more than 12 boards per game.
When Maley is at her best she’s almost impossible to stop, so the Fire need to be sharp.
WHAT’S THE BLAZE WITH KATE GAZE
Written by Fire legend Kate Gaze
Winning in the west is not easy at any stage of the season, let alone game 1 of a semi-finals series.
The Fire went over there on Saturday night and battled tough to redeem themselves from the soul-crushing overtime loss less than a week prior. If you were in the Fire Pit for that heartbreaking game, the final moments would have left you in complete shock as to what happened and how we lost.
I know I had to go home and rewatch the ending to understand how we let it slip.
But, in true Shannon Seebohm form, he obviously rallied the troops and made the required adjustments. The end of game 1 over in Perth was eerily similar to the previous game, with the Fire finding themselves up by a few points with less than a minute to go.
Obviously Nia Coffey was a superstar, having scored 36 points, but in the crucial moments at the very end of the game, I was most impressed with Lauren Mansfield. She was calm, calculated and executed down the stretch to secure the win.
In my books, she was big time.
Looking at tonight’s game, there would be nothing better than securing a spot in the grand final series on the Fire’s home court, celebrating in front of an enormous home crowd – the best crowd in the league.
Not to get ahead of myself here, but I think the Fire will be hard to beat tonight. In both of the last two games, the Fire have been in control, they have dictated whether they’ve won or lost.
I don’t think the Perth Lynx have what it takes to get it done in a three-game series against the Fire.
Don’t get me wrong, they are a talented team.
Potent from the three-point line and when they get going, they can run up big scores. But we haven’t seen Amy Atwell at full strength yet due to a knee injury, and I believe the Perth Lynx need her to be healthy and playing at full capacity in order to win a three-game series.
If the Townsville Fire secure a spot in the grand final series, it will mark their eighth appearance in club history – all of which have come since 2012.
Let’s hope tonight’s game isn’t the last game we see in the Fire Pit for the 2024-25 season, this team has been fun to watch.
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