WNBL: News, reports and results out of the 2022 season

A sputtering first half left Melbourne with a mountain to climb, but these Boomers never say die. Here’s how they dug themselves out of a deep hole to topple Townsville.

A blistering third-quarter barrage from Melbourne breathed life into the battle for second place on the WNBL ladder as the Boomers stormed home to douse the Townsville Fire in an epic contest.

It was about as ugly as it gets to start the game, the two teams trading five turnovers before either could get through an offensive set.

But that was the precursor to an entertaining, physical contest that featured stretches of brilliance befitting of two teams with championship aspirations.

It ended with the Boomers taking an 84-78 win and leapfrogging the Fire into second place.

The sweet-shooting game of Fire captain Lauren Nicholson and the penetration of homegrown Peninsula Grammar point guard Steph Reid helped the Fire establish several double-digit leads in the first half.

The Fire were smarting after a physical clash with Bendigo Spirit resulted in their first blemish of the season — and a $500 fine for coach Shannon Seebohm after he took aim at the refs over an unsportsmanlike foul committed by Spirit star Anneli Maley that left import Karlie Samuelson ruled out after her head hit the floor in the incident.

Tiffany Mitchell ignited the Boomers in the third quarter. Picture: Getty Images

Samuelson suited up against the Boomers, showing no ill-effects, and she made the first bucket of the second half that gave the Fire a 14-point lead — their biggest of the game.

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That spurred the Boomers into action, sparking a 14-0 run — with the league’s leading scorer in Tiffany Mitchell pouring in 10 points for the quarter — that tied the scores and made a real game of it.

Mitchell went scoreless in the last quarter, finishing with 23, but it was Kristy Wallace and the vastly-improved Olivia Nelson-Ododa who put their stamp on the game. Nelson-Ododa finished with a pair of strong-woman and-ones that helped the Boomers ice the game, along with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double from Opals star Cayla George.

Turnovers were a huge issue for the Boomers — they had 29, including eight each to George and Mitchell — and that could be a by-product of heavy minutes in the legs of the starters.

With captain and Opal Tess Madgen still out, coach Chris Reid’s rotation was a short seven deep — and he only got five points out of them as each of the starters played at least 31 minutes.

Steph Reid used her speed and nous to penetrate into the teeth of the Boomers defence. Picture: Getty Images

No loose ball is lost when Kristy Wallace is on the floor. Picture: Getty Images

POINT GUARDS COLLIDE

The battle between playmakers Wallace and Reid was a feature. Neither player gives an inch and both conduct their respective offences like an orchestra. Wallace finished with 17 points and seven dimes and her free throw line pull up is as deadly as it gets. Reid finished with 13 points and seven assists, and her passing and ability to guide her teammates is elite. Some say at 168cm Reid is too small for the Opals, but there are more than a few people who disagree with that assertion.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa flexes after a key fourth-quarter bucket. Picture: Getty Images

OLIVIA NELSON-OH!-DODA

Towering WNBA import Nelson-Ododa is a different player to the one who stepped out in her first few games for the Boomers. She’s figured it out on the offensive end and is a straight monster defensively, sending away three shots. It would be difficult to quantify the number of shots she changed and her work on the offensive end, where she made seven of her nine shots for 17 points, was key in getting the Boomers home. When she posts up, few can stop her, and her roars and flexes after tough made buckets energise the crowd.