ROUND 7 of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) continued on Thursday night, with the Townsville Fire posting a massive win over the Southside Flyers at State Basketball Centre.

The Fire had picked up where they left off last season to start the 2023/24 fixture, and although their remarkable winning streak was broken, had still firmed as the team to beat. Townsville recruited well over the offseason to add even more talent and with Shannon Seebohm still at the helm, would be tough to beat. That was the task facing the Flyers on Thursday, but Southside was performing well in its own right with five wins from seven games and home court advantage on its side.

However, the Fire looked too good across all four quarters, as the visitors jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, cruising home to a 28-point triumph. It puts Townsville at 7-1 on the season, staying ahead of the pack and atop the standings. On the other hand, the Flyers fell to 5-3, making a top-two spot a bit tricker to attain moving forward.

Southside Flyers (77) def. by Townsville Fire (105)

The Fire could not have started the game any better, with the visitors storming out to a 10-1 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Southside simply could not get going from the field and found the bottom of the net hard to come by. Conversely, the Fire were looking as dangerous as ever, sharing the load on the offensive end and jumping out to a 16-point lead at the first change.

That trend continued into the second quarter, with Townsville pushing its lead out further, despite an improved effort from the Flyers. Behind the likes of Steph Reid and Sami Whitcomb, the Fire were seemingly uncontainable with ball in hand, doing as they stretched the lead out to 24 at the main break, giving Southside plenty to do in the second half.

The half time break proved no obstacle for the ladder-leaders, who came out of the main break just as potent on the offensive end as they had displayed in the first half. The ball movement was sublime as the Fire found the best look on almost every possession. They outscored the hosts 29-19 to take an unassailable lead into the final change.

Southside won its first quarter of the match in the fourth term, taking advantage of the fact that the Fire had taken its foot off the gas for the last 10 minutes. The margin was whittled down to 28 as the final buzzer sounded on a forgettable night for the Flyers.

Reid top-scored for the match with 22 points (9/16 FG) to go with three rebounds and six assists, while Whitcomb nailed eight shots on 14 attempts to register 21 points of her own. The duo were the leaders in a dominant team display for the Fire, with four players scoring 15 or more and five reaching double-digits in the points column.

For the Flyers, Mercedes Russell (8/11 FG) and Jasmine Dickey (7/11 FG) each registered 20 points in a pair of brave performances on a tough night for Southside.