‘Greatest’: Fire crowned WNBL champs after OT thriller
Sebastian Tan |
An emotional Shannon Seebohm has heralded Townsville’s 108-105 victory against Perth as one of the greatest post-season games ever, after a battered Courtney Woods spearheaded the Fire to another WNBL title.
Knowing a defeat in front of the sold-out Perth High Performance Centre on Sunday would end the Lynx’s chances of claiming a first title since 1992, the home side started emphatically.
Townsville weathered the early storm with the championship series MVP Woods dazzling, despite having to undergo glue surgery during the third period after copping a Han Xu elbow to the head.
Her career-high 28 points, along with eight rebounds and seven assists, steered the Fire to their second championship in four years and a fifth all-time.
41 lead changes occurred, but when Townsville were down by three in the final quarter, former Lynx guard Miela Sowah (18 points) scored an emphatic triple to tie the scores with 3.7 seconds left.
With a plethora of stars off the court after getting into foul trouble, it was Sowah who rose to the occasion again, sinking a crucial basket with 7.4 seconds remaining in overtime to secure the win.
Alicia Froling also provided the fireworks, posting 25 points and eight boards, while American Lucy Olsen had 15 points and five assists.
The enthralling victory completes the Fire’s dominant season, in which they were the minor premiers, after losing to Bendigo Spirit in last year’s grand final series.
It also confirms coach Seebohm as one of the best mentors in the league, as he becomes one of the few coaches to salute twice.
“Going into the start of the year, we had the youngest team, but we also had all this expectation that we were going to win the championship,” Seebohm said.
“We’re one of the few teams that don’t have an Olympian or an Opal that’s played at a World Cup or done any of those things. We’ve got a lot of unheralded superstars.
“Our whole goal is always to play our best basketball, and I truly believe we did that.
“That was one of the toughest games I’ve ever seen in the WNBL. Surely, that has to go down as one of the greatest finals games ever.”
For Perth, their hopes of claiming a first title in 34 years are over after also going down 88-79 in game one of the best-of-three series on Thursday.
The loss also marks the Lynx’s third grand final defeat in five years after falling short in 2022 and 2024.
Han was typically inspirational with 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, while Lynx teammate Anneli Maley recorded another double-double with 27 points and 19 boards.
Alex Ciabattoni (23 points) and Ally Wilson (13 points, nine assists, nine rebounds) were also busy.
“You can roll over, curl into a ball, suck your thumb and just cry, or you can dig your heels in and try again,” coach Ryan Petrik said.
“It felt like a game that could have gone either way, and we had a chance to grab it.
“Unfortunately, our chances didn’t fall, and that’s the price.”
The Lynx went on an 11-2 early run, but struggled to find the net in the second term and Townsville pounced to surge to a 50-45 lead at the main break.
Perth set up a thrilling finish after producing a 15-3 spurt in the third quarter, but it was Sowah’s last-gasp shots that won Townsville the championship.
AAP