The beginning of the match saw strong competition from both teams, with the first point on the board being notched by Spirit co-captain Marianna Tolo (10 points, five rebounds), as she entered the court with energy on her 250th game. Alongside fellow Spirit co-captain Kelsey Griffin, also celebrating 250 WNBL games, the pair quietly led their team as they chipped into Lynx’s game.
Strong efforts from Australian Opal Ally Wilson (16 points, five rebounds, five assists) was not enough to correct the Lynx’s scoring deficit, with 26-pointer Isobel Borlase holding off the Lynx’s attempt to rectify their losing battle.
Anneli Maley (nine points, 11 rebounds), falling just short of achieving a double-double, played hard as per usual, despite the immense pressure applied by the Spirit squad.
An ultimately unsuccessful fight from the Lynx found them knocked down a peg into third position on the ladder, after a significant loss of 87-58 at the final buzzer.
Lynx head coach, Ryan Petrik, commented on the disappointing loss post-match.
“The first half wasn’t perfect, but then the house really fell down – badly. Borlase was an issue almost immediately; Bendigo were just far too good for us today. Quite often the answer to our trailing score was simple – the players just need to make the shots.”
After playing her last game with the Lynx, and now preparing to head back to the US, import Brianna Turner reflected on her six rounds in the WNBL for the 2025-26 season
“I have really enjoyed my time with the Lynx. It’s been an amazing six weeks, so it’s bittersweet to heading off now.”
Although a sour end to Turner’s WNBL season, hopefully the presence of Chinese basketball superstar, Han Xu - who arrived in the country on Saturday night - will buoy the Lynx to return to their winnings ways next week.
