Murray moments are when it counts
IT’S been a rocky road at times, but vice- captain Mia Murray believes the Townsville Fire are peaking at the perfect moment as they prepare to host the Melbourne Boomers in the WNBL grand final series.
The Fire will head into tonight’s opening game at Townsville Stadium with a spring in their step after sweeping the Sydney Flames in the semi- finals, but they haven’t always had such confidence.
Inconsistency plagued the Fire during the regular season, often beating up on the lower ranked teams while struggling to string wins together against the top contenders.
Murray’s own form has probably mirrored that of her team, with the experienced small forward admitting she was unhappy with her consistency, which led to a stint on the bench.
The 29- year- old has reinvented herself as a lockdown defender during Townsville’s finals campaign, with a matchwinning steal in the last minute of their epic 68- 65 semi- final win over Sydney last weekend.
Murray was named the grand final MVP when the Fire claimed their maiden title in 2015 and she was hopeful she could live up to that reputation as a big game player.
“I think it’s just focusing on what I need to do for the team to be successful,” Murray said.
“To be honest, I haven’t really been that happy with my offensive output this season. It’s probably been down a little bit on my standards, but I’m trying to find a different way to contribute.
“At the moment that’s defensively and really trying to disrupt the other team.”
Defence has been the backbone of Townsville’s surge into their fifth grand final in six years, but it was just a fortnight ago when they were given a stark reality check with a 107- 81 loss in Sydney.
The Fire put that behind them to hold the Flames to just 114 points across the two semifinals.
“I think it’s always good going into finals in form. We were very disappointed with our loss in Sydney and I think that’s where the buck stopped,” Murray said.
Murray is chasing her third championship with the Fire, but she knows it won’t come easy against a Boomers side desperate to break their seven- year title drought.
“We haven’t seen the Boomers this late into the finals for a while and they’re going to be just as desperate as what we are,” Murray said.
“This is my fifth grand final and it’s always exciting. If you can’t get up for a grand final then I’m not sure why you’re playing.”