AFTER an exciting first round of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), the action continues tonight when the Perth Lynx host the Townsville Fire to kickstart Round 2 of the 2024/25 season.

The first week of play delivered some blowout results that saw some sides gain early ascendancy with comprehensive wins around the courts. Those who suffered defeat will be looking to bounce back and try and keep the pace with the teams that got off to a winning side.

Both the Lynx and the Fire secured convincing wins in the opening week of play, but only one will remain unbeaten by the end of the night.

Perth Lynx vs. Townsville Fire

Bendat Basketball Centre
Wednesday, November 6 @6:30pm

It was an excellent start to the season for both of these teams, and recent form indicates it will be a high-scoring and high-quality contest at Bendat Basketball Centre.

The Lynx were able to exact revenge on the Southside Flyers for last season’s WNBL Grand Final series by securing a 15-point win in Round 1. Perth was simply too good for the reigning champion and will relish two consecutive games out West, which should give the Lynx a significant advantage.

In that clash, Anneli Maley was the star of the show with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but will face a tall order coming up against the Fire. Townsville does like to shoot the ball a lot, and Maley may get an advantage from this. If she can control the paint, it will be a huge boost for the Lynx at home.

The Fire played party pooper in Round 1, heading to the Victorian coastline to defeat Geelong United by 26 points. Townsville was the dominant team for much of last season, but fell out of the finals far earlier than expected. However, the Fire were dominant against the side formerly known as the Melbourne Boomers and snagged a big win.

As mentioned above, the battle for the upper hand in the low block will be crucial to the result of the game, and Alicia Froling will be a key cog. The Fire have plenty of outside scorers and are the deeper team, but Froling will have her hands full going head to head with Maley. If she can slow down the production of her opponent while taking control of the paint in the process, Townsville may prove too much for the Lynx.

The Lynx liked to play in transition last week, recording 19 fast break points and their ability to get out the back resulted in better looks and a higher field goal percentage than their Round 2 opponents. Townsville will be looking to recapture its ascendancy on the offensive glass, having produced 13 second chance points in its Round 1 win.

The first game of the round is shaping as a cracker, and with both sides in ripping form of late, the match should go down to the wire at Bendat Basketball Centre.