HEADING into the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) finals with some wind in their sails, the Townsville Fire recorded a massive 27-point win over the Adelaide Lightning to kick off the penultimate round of the 2024/25 season.

Coming into the clash at Adelaide 36ers Arena on Wednesday night, it was a matchup that was considered a dead rubber in regards to the race for the finals, given the Lightning were out of contention for a top-four spot while the Fire were locked into the postseason. However, Townsville was still looking to lock in a top two spot so a win was necessary to keep the team in the hunt.

The Fire were simply too good to slip up and allow an upset, proving dominant, particularly in the first quarter, en route to their 14th win of the season.

Adelaide Lightning (63) def. by Townsville Fire (90)

The Fire could not have started the match any better, posting the first six points of the contest and going on a 26-8 run in the first seven minutes. Adelaide simply lacked the firepower to keep up with a Townsville outfit that had plenty of scoring options. The visitors posted 29 points in the first quarter to lead by 16 at the first change.

The Lightning tightened things up in the second term, rotating faster and looking much more determined on the defensive end. Adelaide could not make any inroads to the deficit, but was only outscored by two points and kept the contest from getting too out of hand.

It was a low-scoring third quarter, but the final term saw baskets start to fall from both sides. However, it was still the Fire that remained on top. Finding their form from the opening quarter, Townsville slammed the door shot with a 27-19 final period to walk away with a vital win for its top-two hopes.

Adelaide’s inefficiency from behind the arc proved costly, with the Lightning making just one three-pointer on 17 attempts, while the Fire were much more productive from range by shooting 7/19 (36 per cent). Townsville won just about every major statistical category in what was a wholly dominant display.

For the Fire, Alicia Froling led the way with a game-high 22 points on 11/21 shooting to go with six rebounds to be the standout player of the match. She helped Townsville get away to a flying start in the first quarter, and was the benchmark for the victors.

Also impressing for the Fire was Lauren Cox, who posted a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Courtney Woods was crucial with 15 points on 6/8 shooting from the field.

For Adelaide, young gun Isobel Borlase was the shining light on the scoring front with 16 points as she continues her standout campaign for the Lightning, while Brianna Turner stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 16 rebounds and three assists.

The Fire will now turn their attention to a crucial clash against the Lynx in the final round, while Adelaide will be back in action in a few days when it takes on the Southside Flyers.