Gritty Fire get it done
THE Townsville Fire are on the cusp of breaking back into the WNBL’s top four after grinding out an 89- 82 overtime win over the Bendigo Spirit on Saturday afternoon.
For the second time in three weeks, the Fire were forced to play beyond the final siren, but they showed their championship qualities to dominate the Spirit 13- 6 in overtime.
Suzy Batkovic ( 25 points, 16 rebounds) was in fine form with a double- double while Tess Madgen produced arguably her best game in Fire colours with 15 points and 14 assists. The reigning champions have been guilty of defensive lapses in their inconsistent start to the season, but coach Claudia Brassard felt the Fire had produced a more complete performance against Bendigo.
“We definitely needed that win and it was good to grind it out. Bendigo have been playing really well and they’re in the top four so it’s a big win for us,” Brassard said.
“Tess clearly led from the front with the 14 assists and just getting the ball to the right people, but I thought defensively we did a good job in that overtime not giving them open threes.
“I think we’ve shown it in patches and again I wouldn’t say we played 45 minutes of that really good basketball, but it probably was a lot more consistent. There’s still a few things we could do a bit better, but we’re definitely happy we ended up with that ‘ W’.”
The Fire looked in control for much of the first half, but still found themselves trailing at the breaks as the Spirit hit a pair of buzzer beaters through Cassidy McLean ( 4 points) and Nat Hurst ( 5 points).
Bendigo’s lead blew out to nine points in the third quarter before the visitors surged with a 14- 3 run including a Micaela Cocks ( 12 points) triple from the top of the arc to put them back in front.
Townsville junior Nadeen Payne ( 17 points) had the last shot of the quarter for Bendigo to lock things up at 56- 56 and the two sides traded the advantage during the thrilling final term.
Regulation time came down to a pair of free throws from Batkovic, and while the Fire skipper missed the first, she nailed her second shot to make it a 76- 76 stalemate and send them to overtime.
The Fire were blown away in overtime against Perth three weeks ago, but imports Ally Malott ( 13 points) and Laurin Mincy ( 13 points) stepped up to lead their side to a crucial win.
The win sees the Fire ( 4- 5) jump to fifth on the ladder and they could still climb higher when they host the fourthplaced Spirit ( 6- 4) in a return clash at Townsville Stadium on Thursday.
“I think everyone knows if we get this win we can be in the top four so it’s really important for us to make sure that we lock down,” Brassard said.