THE PERTH Lynx’s season has come to an end at the hands of the Townsville Fire who have advanced to the WNBL Grand Final Series following their dominant 30-point victory at home on Wednesday night. 

Townsville took a 1-0 series lead on Saturday in Perth and looked the better side at all points of Wednesday’s game as well. The Fire won all four quarters and put the game out of reach by three-quarter time, but it wasn’t without early issues.

Through two minutes in the opening term it was all Lynx, as Perth ballooned out to a rapid 8-0 start on the back of threes from Steph Gorman and Anneli Maley, as well as a floater from Miela Sowah. Perth would continue to push the advantage out and led by 11 points less than three minutes into the game, with Sowah nailing the visitor’s third triple in as many minutes.

Following an and-one from Alicia Froling, the switch appeared to flip and suddenly Townsville was doing all the scoring, posting an 11-0 run of its own, capped off by Nia Coffey’s tip in with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Fire finished the opening period on a 16-2 run that gave them a five-point lead. 

Much of the second quarter was back-and-forth, as the teams took turns reigning in the lead and then extending it again. Alex Wilson put her side on her back as she poured in 13 points for the term, but it was for nought due to the Fire’s scoring prowess. The home side outscored Perth by nine points to extend the lead out to 14 heading into the main break, Coffey contributing eight points from two shots from beyond the arc in the term. 

Coming out of halftime, Townsville remained on fire offensively, motoring to an 11-2 run to open the second half and putting another 11 points onto the already double-digit advantage to lead by 25 points through three quarters of basketball. With the game well and truly dusted, Perth was unable to muster any kind of comeback in the latter stages of the game, the Fire comfortably cementing their spot in the Grand Final Series. 

Wilson did all she could for the Lynx, posting 24 points, seven assists and six steals, while Maley chipped in 17 points and six rebounds. Sowah and Alexandra Ciabattoni combined to add 25 points, but the contributors for Perth were few and far between. Laeticia Amihere struggled with foul trouble in this one, fouling out in just 11 minutes. With the visiting side lacking her interior defensive presence, Townsville’s offense was able to roar all night. 

Six Fire players scored in double-digits, and none more than 18 in what was a superb team performance. Abbey Ellis and Courtney Woods both scored 18 points, with Ellis dishing out nine assists and Woods ripping down eight rebounds. They each nailed four of their seven attempts from distance.

Alexandra Fowler put up 16 points and five rebounds, while Lauren Cox had a big evening, posting 15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Coffey and Froling combined for 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

The Fire were scorching from the field, shooting 57 per cent including going 15/30 from downtown, whilst also easily outrebounding Perth 44-29. They also dished out 20 more assists than the visitors and were boosted by more than double the bench points than the Lynx had. Though Perth did a much better job at not turning the ball over, it committed far too many fouls and sent Townsville to the line far too often.

Perth heads home after falling in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, having been swept by Townsville in the first round twice in that period. The Fire are now able to get some rest, as they await the result of the series between the Sydney Flames and the Bendigo Spirit to see who they will face off against for the championship.