Sport
20 March, 2023
Townsville eliminates Lynx
PERTH Lynx has been eliminated from the National Women’s Basketball League play off series after losing game two on Sunday. Needing to claim victory after dropping game one to minor premier Townsville Fire, Perth was unable to get over the title...
PERTH Lynx has been eliminated from the National Women’s Basketball League play off series after losing game two on Sunday.
Needing to claim victory after dropping game one to minor premier Townsville Fire, Perth was unable to get over the title favourite on their home court in Perth.
Game one last Thursday saw Townsville produce a strong defensive game to hold the usually free-scoring Lynx line-up to just 68 points as the Fire skipped away to a 81-68 point victory.
Townsville grabbed a slender two point lead at quarter time before extending their lead to 11 points on the back of 10 unanswered points to finish the second term.
Perth reduced the margin to seven points at three quarter time on the back of captain Sami Whitcomb but was unable to keep their momentum in the final quarter and were outscored 17-11 for Townsville to extend its final winning margin to 13 points.
Whitcomb topped scored for Perth with 22 points, while forward Lauren Scherf shot 18 points as Bibby was kept to just two points after some strong defensive work from the Fire.
Game two on Sunday saw a similar path to game one with Townsville skipping clear in the first half before a Lynx fightback in the third quarter.
Heavy scoring early saw Townsville skip to a 27-22 lead at quarter time before extending their margin to 10 points at half time when they added 26 points to 21 on the back of import Tianna Hawkins who was on fire in the first half.
A fightback from Whitcomb and fellow guard Robbie Ryan saw the Lynx level scores at 61 points each on the back of a 13-0 run before the Fire steadied with a 7-3 run to finish the quarter and lead by four points at three quarter time after a 21-15 quarter which set up a big finale to the game.
Perth claimed the lead for the first time of the match with the first five points of the final term, but Townsville was able to respond through some strong play and again found their range with Hawkins continuing her strong game.
Perth was able to find the basket with 20 final-term points but the Fire were not going to be denied their chance at premiership glory to finish with 23 points and claim a seven-point victory with Hawkins scoring 23 points.
Bibby produced a strong scoring game with 18 points and seven rebounds, scoring four three pointers from five attempts as Whitcomb finished with a game-high 26 points.
Townsville, who is now on a 14-game winning run and will play Southside Flyers who defeated Melbourne Boomers in game three in a thriller, ????, on Wednesday night.
The teams split the first two games with Southside winning game one 84-74 before the Boomers hit back in claim game two, 96-77, to take the series to a deciding game three.