Fire lose mojo on the road

“Life on the road is never easy, but both times we’ve played Dandenong here they’ve been on the back of two losses and very desperate, and I don’t think we matched that desperation.”

The opening quarter was a three- point shootout with the Fire’s first nine points coming from long range while Dandenong hit 5/ 7 to take the lead.

The visitors struggled to find a way inside early and those frustrations boiled over when Cayla George ( 4 points, 4 rebounds) was hit with a technical foul as Townsville fell behind 12- 3.

The Fire’s bench gave them the spark they needed as Murray hit back- to- back triples, but Laia Palau ( 13 points) responded in kind to put Dandenong up 21- 13 at quarter- time.

The break didn’t help the Fire find their rhythm as they were shooting at just 23 per cent at halftime while Rangers forward Carley Mijovic ( 18 points, 16 rebounds) already had a double- double.

Townsville’s shooting woes were summed up when Batkovic missed two free throws late in the quarter as Dandenong’s lead blew out to 41- 19 at the main break.

Batkovic sent a scare through the Fire camp when she hit the floor hard early in the third quarter, giving Mijovic an open three at the other end. The skipper played through the back injury that she has managed all season and had some nice touches as Townsville built some momentum with a 22- 17 third quarter.

But they couldn’t stop Dandenong’s potent offence as captain Steph Blicavs ( 14 points, 8 rebounds) and Tess Lavey ( 12 points, 6 assists) finished on double figures to seal a massive win.

Townsville are now equal second on the ladder after defending champions the Sydney Flames also suffered a shock defeat to Adelaide 77- 74 at home last night.