Fire burn through Lightning to start year on a high
Sebastian Tan |
Townsville Fire’s Opals representatives have mixed style with substance to spearhead the injury-ravaged side to a cruisy 83-69 WNBL win against the Adelaide Lightning.
Without stars Lauren Cox and Courtney Woods because of knee and hamstring injuries, the Fire shook off Adelaide’s early momentum before dominating at the South Australian State Basketball Centre on Sunday.
Opal Miela Sowah was at the centre of it, posting 18 points while her national compatriot Alex Fowler was also busy making 14 points and eight rebounds.
Victory helps Townsville improve their record to 12-3, moving them back to within one win of the ladder-leading Bendigo Spirit after going down to them on New Year’s Eve.
Having scored 20 points all season, young-gun Chloe Forster also shone, bucketing 12 points.
“I’m always a little bit nervous, and you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen,” coach Shannon Seebohm said.
“To be honest, I think that was one of our best defensive games of the (season).
“For three-and-a-half quarters, we defended really well, stuck to our scout and game plan, in terms of how we wanted to guard.”
Seebohm also confirmed Cox was unlikely to return this season after picking up a knee injury on Wednesday night, while Woods is expected to come back sometime in the next week.
The Lightning (4-12) suffered their fifth straight defeat, which is currently the second-longest losing streak in the competition, behind the cellar dwellers, Geelong Venom (nine losses).
A victory would have helped the Lightning move within two wins of the top four, but shooting inaccuracy in the second and third quarters bruised their chances.
Dallas Loughridge (six assists) and Steph Talbot (six rebounds) were typically busy, pocketing 18 and 19 points, respectively.
“We had a lack of execution on the offensive end, and then on the defensive end, we were good for a few rotations, and then we were either late or not there,” Loughridge said.
“In the second half, we slowed down and got to what we were trying to get to in the first half. Our looks got a little bit easier.”
Sowah’s two threes helped Townsville start fast, but Adelaide kept in touch, chipping away at the scoreboard to trail by six points at quarter-time.
After going on an 11-2 run late into the first quarter and into the second, Townsville’s Alicia Froling and Forster continued to pile on the points to finish the half leading 44-27.
The Fire ballooned their advantage to 29 points after going on a game-defining 9-0 spree early in the third quarter, and Adelaide couldn’t pull back the deficit.
AAP
