GAME ONE of the second WNBL semi-final was taken by the Townsville Fire, as they defeated the Perth Lynx by 13 points at Townsville Entertainment Centre on Thursday night.

Despite the Lynx starting strong with Sami Whitcomb registering the first five points of the match, Townsville stormed back into the match.

The Fire did a terrific job of restricting Perth’s perimeter-friendly style of play, although the Lynx continued to make things interesting and put enough points on the board to remain within seven heading into the last. However, the home side put the foot down in the fourth to cruise home to an 81-68 triumph.

As flagged in our series preview article, Steph Reid is one of the most important players for Townsville in its championship aspirations, and that was in full display on Thursday night. The guard was the best player on the court and proved a difference maker as she has done so many times throughout her career.

Townsville Fire (81) def. Perth Lynx (68)

Stephanie Reid – 24 points, five rebounds, three assists

Reid has played an instrumental role in Townsville’s spike in form in the back half of the season, and was the big performer as her side took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Although Whitcomb started off well, Reid finished the match with 24 points, finding plenty of space on the offensive end and displaying an innate scoring ability.

She was extremely accurate when shooting the ball, rarely wasting any scoring opportunities she created. From the field, 10 of her 15 attempts were good, despite any extra attention the defence paid as the game wore on.

Doing most of her work from inside the arc, Reid went 8/10 from two-point territory, combining both inside scoring and mid-range shooting to make life difficult for her direct opponent.

She even chimed in for a pair of three’s on five attempts, and while it is not usually her preferred scoring method, it appeared to work against Perth.

While she can affect a contest with her playmaking alone, Reid took the responsibility as the team’s leading scorer to deliver some much-needed buckets when the Lynx jumped out to an early lead.

She steered the ship on the scoring front, running the pick and rolls with Mikaela Ruef in excellent fashion and taking advantage of the defence collapsing on Karlie Samuelson on the perimeter. Thanks to her offensive performance, Townsville is now one win away from a spot in the Grand Final series.