Star injured as Bendigo claim grand final rematch win
Sebastian Tan |
The Bendigo Spirit will start the new year on top of the WNBL ladder, but opponents Townsville Fire will count the cost of a 73-61 loss with star Lauren Cox suffering a knee injury.
Fans at the Townsville Entertainment Centre were left stunned when last season’s defensive player of the year tried to grab a rebound, but landed awkwardly late in the first quarter on Wednesday.
She then lay on the court, clutching her left knee and shouting to the bench for help.
“When a person grabs their knee like that, it’s usually not going to be something great, so we’ll have to wait and see. She’s gone off to the hospital,” coach Shannon Seebohm said.
“It’s a big loss in a lot of ways. The defence she provides us, the smarts, she’s one of our most experienced players.”
In the clash between the league’s top two sides on the ladder, captain Kelsey Griffin provided the fireworks with another double-double, posting 14 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
But Bendigo’s defence was the defining factor as they held the competition’s most prolific scoring team to 61 points, below their lowest score of 79 this season.
Kelsey Rees also registered a career-high 16 points, while three other players had double-digit scoring performances, improving the Spirit’s record to 13-2 and creating a two-win buffer over their opponents.
“I’ve got no surprises with how this team’s playing,” coach Kennedy Kereama said.
“To be honest, I’m really surprised to look at the stat sheet and see we shot about 50 per cent from both the three and two-point line.”
Townsville (11-3) have not beaten the reigning champions since February 2023 at their home ground, and shooting inaccuracy (35.6 per cent) cruelled their chances of ending the streak.
Although they were without Opal Courtney Woods (hamstring), Miela Sowah (16 points, five rebounds) and Alex Fowler (15 points, eight rebounds) were typically busy in the grand-final rematch.
“If you take that many poor shots, and we were 10 from 39 in the paint, that’s insane in the WNBL,” Seebohm said.
“I just don’t think we were ready or made the right adjustments to work the ball enough.”
Bendigo went on an early 9-2 run and sank almost 100 per cent of their three-point shots to lead by eight points at quarter-time.
Townsville only scored once after Cox went down, as the Spirit slotted eight unanswered points.
But the Fire replied with an 11-0 spurt before Bendigo finished strongly to extend their advantage to 44-30 at the main break.
Izzy Borlase (12 points, six rebounds) and Meg McConnell (17 points, six rebounds, seven assists) ballooned Bendigo’s advantage to 18 points at three-quarter time, and Townsville couldn’t erode the deficit.
AAP
