IN A tense third and final game in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) semi-finals, the Townsville Fire booked their spot into the decider after defeating the Southside Melbourne Flyers by 10 points.

After the Fire won game one in dominant fashion, the Flyers returned serve with a big victory to force game three in a see-sawing series. Now with the action returning to the Townsville Entertainment Centre for a do-or-die clash on Sunday afternoon, a spot in the Grand Final series against the Perth Lynx was on the line.

For the second time in as many seasons, the Fire locked in their place in the deciding series, defeating the Flyers in game three by the smallest margin of the three matches to give themselves a shot at redemption for their loss on the big stage last year.

Townsville Fire (84) def. Southside Flyers (74)

Following a tense start to proceedings, the Flyers gave themselves a strong chance in enemy territory by taking a four-point lead into the first change. If they were going to make the decider, Southside was going to need to buck the trend and claim an away win on Sunday afternoon, and its first quarter performance was a solid start in achieving that goal.

However, the second quarter was the definitive period of the match, with the home side blitzing the opposition to take control of the contest. A 14-3 run gave the Fire an emphatic scoreboard advantage heading into the main break, and left the visitors with plenty to do in the second half.

Despite the momentum shift in the second frame, the Flyers never relented and continued to chip away at the deficit throughout the final two quarters. The margin was trimmed down to as little as four points late in the final frame, but Southside could not get over the hump in the closing minutes, missing crucial baskets as the Fire sealed the game at the free throw line.

Townsville’s winning effort was led by Alicia Froling, who was excellent for Townsville in the decider and showed her class, dropping a game-high 26 points on 10/17 shooting from the field, while pulling down nine rebounds in a game-winning performance with the season on the line.

Captain Courtney Woods was also vital in game three, dropping 19 points and making six of her nine attempts from the inside the arc, while Miela Sowah made every post a winner with 18 points of her own on a near-perfect 5/6 shooting from two-point territory.

Despite the result, the Flyers were well-served by some of their big names on the road, with both skipper Cayla George (25 points, six rebounds, three assists) and Maddison Rocci (20 points, eight assists) doing as much as they could to get Southside into the Grand Final.

The Fire will now face off against the Lynx in a blockbuster Grand Final series, which is set to kick off at the Townsville Entertainment Centre tonight.