THE ACTION continued in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) on Tuesday night, as the Bendigo Spirit claimed a seven-point win over the Geelong Venom in Round 2 of the 2025/26 season.

The Spirit hosted the Venom at Red Energy Arena last night, in search of their first win of the fixture following a Round 1 loss at the hands of the Townsville Fire. On the other hand, the Venom had broken even from their first two games, and were fresh off a big win over the Adelaide Lightning earlier in the week.

The reigning champions were given quite the scare by an under-manned Geelong outfit, but managed to hold on for a seven-point triumph to get on the board for season 2025/26 and finally get their title defence underway.

Bendigo Spirit (62) def. Geelong Venom (55)

It was a tight affair in the first frame, with the Venom bringing it right up to the Spirit in the opening stages of the match. Bendigo looked to break away when it scored 11 of the first 15 points to lead heading towards quarter time, but the visitors rallied late, going on an 8-0 run on the eve of the first change to tie up proceedings when the buzzer sounded.

The second quarter proved decisive in the context of the match, as the home side finally shook the shackles and stormed out to a double-digit lead. Although it was tight throughout the first half of the period, a 10-2 run in the final four minutes of the half saw the Spirit lead by 10 points, heading into the second half with all of the momentum.

Geelong lifted the intensity on the defensive end in the third quarter, hounding and harassing the opposition on every possession and making life difficult for last season’s WNBL champions. The Spirit were restricted to just nine points for the quarter, and the Venom were able to keep themselves in the contest by cutting the margin to seven points at the final change.

A starring performance from Mackenzie Holmes put the visitors in front remarkably in the final minutes of the game, with the import putting Geelong on her back in a clutch performance. Unfortunately, she fouled out in the final two minutes, which allowed the Spirit to get the game back on their terms and hold on for a seven-point win at home.

Star off-season signing Isobel Borlase was the standout for the Spirit in their scrappy win, showing her class with 20 points (5/10 FG), five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block as she stood up in the second quarter to play a crucial role. Marianna Tolo was also impressive with 16 points and nine boards, while Abigail Wehrung posted 11 points of her own and was a solid contributor in the victory.

Holmes could not have done much more for the Venom, posting a whopping 30 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks and almost dragged her side over the line in the fourth quarter before she fouled out. She shot 11/18 from the field in a starring turn in a performance that deserved a win.