Townsville Fire have claimed their second consecutive WNBL championship with a hard-fought 80-70 win over Perth Lynx in the second game of the grand final series.
The Fire returned to their home court on Friday night after winning game one of the series last Saturday in Perth.
The Fire edged ahead towards the end of the first quarter as Perth hit early foul trouble and Townsville made them pay at the line.
The home side came out firing in the second term through dominating centre Suzy Batkovic and sharp-shooter Mia Murray, leading 45-36 at half-time.
Batkovic finished the half with 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists followed by Murray with 12 points and one steal.
The Lynx kicked back fast in the third, storming out to a seven-point lead with four minutes to go, but the Fire fought back to reduce the deficit to four at the final break, trailing 61 to 57.
The momentum swung back to the Fire in the final quarter, as they pushed the lead out to 10 points with five minutes left in the game. A flurry of buckets from forward Cayla George sealed the win.
Fire's Natalie Novosel finished with 18 points for the home side followed by Batkovic and Murray with 16.
Lynx imports Sami Whitcomb (15 points) and Betnijah Laney (16 points) were top scorers for the away side.
Fire coach Chris Lucas said to win back-to-back championships was a dream come true.
"I don't think its hit me properly yet," he said.
"The way it has turned out is pretty special to be quite honest.
"I thought our composure in the last quarter was exceptional, " he said.
Perth import Sami Whitcomb said the loss was hard to take after such a positive year for the squad.
"It hurts but I think we are really excited about having a crack again next year," she said.
Share
