Griffin shines as Spirit heap further pain on Capitals
Sebastian Tan |
Two-time UC Capitals champion Kelsey Griffin has created another finals hurdle for her former side as she powered the Bendigo Spirit to a gritty 77-73 victory.
Having claimed just one win against the WNBL’s top three teams, the Capitals had a second opportunity in three days to show they can beat the league’s best.
But withstanding a chorus of boos, Griffin worked the floor, registering her first double-double of 2026 with 20 points and 14 rebounds to guide the Spirit to victory at the AIS Arena on Sunday.
Victory for Bendigo (16-4) puts the pressure on the ladder leading Townsville Fire (17-4) as the Spirit sit just one win behind them with a game in hand.
The Capitals (8-12) have now suffered their sixth loss in eight matches, as the side went down to Bendigo for a second time in three days.
Having scored 75 points in her past two games, Izzy Borlase added 23 to her round 15 tally while Abbey Wehrung had eight points and three steals.
“I’m always in awe of a lot of the stuff she (Griffin) does. She just plays in the moment and rises to all occasions,” coach Kennedy Kereama said.
“Fatigue was starting to settle in, and certainly we knew the Caps were going to come out with a different energy … we weathered a fairly physical game.”
The Capitals’ loss also keeps them in fifth place on the ladder, whereas a win would have helped them go one victory clear of the Southside Melbourne Flyers (8-11) in fourth.
Opal Zitina Aokuso (22 points, six rebounds) and Nyadiew Puoch (18 points) were instrumental, while Jade Melbourne (eight points, seven assists, three steals) provided a spark in her first home game after hand surgery.
But Canberra came undone in the last quarter as they lacked composure in crunch moments.
After Canberra had stayed in touch, Bendigo went on a game-defining 9-0 run midway through the final period.
“It was like a two or three-minute patch where we let them get off the hook,” coach Paul Goriss said.
“You’ve got to be playing good basketball at this time of the season. It’s just a level of consistency over the 40 minutes.”
Aokuso bucketed four points to help the Capitals lead by 15-11 at quarter time, but Griffin and Olivia Pollerd stepped up in the second period to guide the Spirit to a six-point halftime advantage.
Melbourne found her form in the third quarter, but Borlase sank a flurry of baskets as Bendigo created a five-point final break deficit which the Capitals couldn’t overcome.
AAP
