CONTINUING their stretch of dominance over the past few seasons, the Townsville Fire have sent a warning to the rest of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) by winning the preseason tournament over the weekend.

With the 2024/25 season set to start in just over a month, the WNBL held a tournament at the inaugural HoopsFest in Perth over the weekend. HoopsFest hosted the first round of the NBL, a WNBL preseason tournament, and the U18 National Club Championships to put the spotlight on all levels of Australian basketball.

The WNBL tournament took place from Thursday to Saturday, producing either double-headers with the NBL, or back to back matches at Bendat Basketball Centre, giving a first glimpse of each team and how they have changed since the last fixture.

The Fire won both of their games over the weekend, and look back to their best that saw them win a championship at the conclusion of the 2022/23 season.

They first matched up against the newly formed Geelong United, who replaced the Melbourne Boomers and headed further south to expand the WNBL. United performed strongly, but were bested by a Fire side that is shaping as one of the teams to beat in the upcoming season.

In that match, the Fire were boosted by shooting a whopping 40 per cent from behind the arc, while Geelong managed just 11.5 per cent from downtown. The perimeter accuracy played a huge role for Townsville, as it snuck home for a six-point triumph.

Mikayla Pirini was Townsville’s best with 18 points and six assists in the win, showing her capability to become a number-one option on the scoring front. Jess Jakens was the next best with 11 points and six boards, while Jess McDowell-White (10 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Majella Carey (10 points, five rebounds, six assists) were also strong contributors.

For Geelong, Dakota Crichton was the standout with a game-high 19 points along with nine rebounds to nearly post a double-double, while Poppy Stevens played her role well with 12 points.

The Fire had their second match of the tournament on the Friday in a short turnaround, defeating the Bendigo Spirit by 21 points in an emphatic display.

The Fire showcased their young talent again, and were simply too good for Bendigo across all four quarters, heading into the final portion of the off-season with plenty of momentum under their belt and likely as title favourites.

Once again, Pirini was among the action on the offensive end, delivering 18 points for the second match in a row, but she had plenty of help from teammates. The team’s leading scorer in the win was actually Carey, who posted an impressive 19 points in her own breakout performance on the scoring front, along with five rebounds and six assists.

Emma Petrie was a key contributor with 12 points and seven rebounds in an eye-catching performance, while Prasayus Notoa (13 points, four rebounds) and McDowell-White (10 points, four rebounds, seven assists) were impressive.

Bendigo was heavily carried by the performance of Abigail Wehrung, who top-scored for the match with 23 points in a towering offensive showing. She looks set for a big year in Spirit colours if Friday’s performance is anything to go by.