IN THE opening round of the 2025/26 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season, the Townsville Fire broke away late in their clash against the Bendigo Spirit to claim an eight-point victory over the weekend.

The first week of the fixture took place over the past week, with a long offseason culminating in some exciting matchups, including the Spirit hosting the Fire in a rematch of last year’s grand final, in which Bendigo took home the ultimate prize.

On the back of a career-best game from Abbey Ellis, the Fire were able to finish the game strongly, breaking away from the home side to exact their revenge from last year’s decider and start their campaign with a satisfying victory on the road.

Bendigo Spirit (66) def. by Townsville Fire (71)

In a high-scoring start to the match, the Fire were showing excellent production from the field, finding sources of scoring from all five starters and showing Red Energy Arena that they were certainly up for the fight. At the end of the first term, it was the visitors who took a four-point lead into the break in a strong start.

The second quarter was even better from Townsville, with the Fire nailing plenty of jumpshots and showing impressive efficiency when shooting the ball, which could not be matched by the Spirit despite having home court advantage. Another 21 points from the visitors saw them take a 10-point lead into half time with plenty of momentum under their belt.

A switch in defensive intensity proved to be a bit of a spark for the Spirit, with the home side not allowing Townsville to be as free flowing on the offensive end, and it was reflected on the scoreboard. Through getting stops, the hosts were able to drag themselves back into the contest, and trailed by just one point at the final change.

Bendigo remarkably took the lead early in the fourth quarter, with star offseason signing Isobel Borlase inspiring the comeback, but it was as close as they got to victory. The Fire broke the game open with an 18-4 run and never looked back, holding on for an eight-point win to start their season in perfect fashion on the road.

Ellis won the Breakout Player of the Season last year, and delivered a career-best performance over the weekend to indicate she could take another step this season, dropping 31 points, six three-pointers and 10 rebounds in a massive performance and the best since she joined the WNBL.

For the Spirit, Borlase fought hard to get her side over the line, dropping 17 points and eight rebounds in a strong first-up outing since joining the team from the Adelaide Lightning. Despite the loss, she showed exactly how important she will be to the team’s success this season.