A thrilling one-point win over the West Coast Fever in the Firebirds’ final pool match at Ken Rosewall Arena gave Bec Bulley’s team a chance of appearing in the grand final, but a narrow NSW Swifts win in Sunday’s final match secured them a spot in the decider against the Melbourne Vixens.
Having fallen to the Swifts by 10 points earlier on Saturday, the Firebirds rebounded in style to defeat the Fever 44-42.
With Lara Dunkley and Macy Gardner dominating the midcourt, Tippah Dwan’s four Suncorp Super Shots and a flawless 16 from 16 by Ali Miller led the way for the Firebirds.
Up by four at halftime, the Firebirds had to hold off a fast-finishing Fever in a nerve-jangling final 30 seconds but kept their opponents from scoring to secure their second one-point win of the weekend.
In Saturday’s earlier match, a haul of five Suncorp Super Shots by Swifts goaler Helen Housby was too much of a hurdle for the Firebirds to clear in a 51-41 defeat.
Housby and shooting partner Sophie Fawns scored a total of seven two-pointers as the Swifts were able to keep the Firebirds at arm’s length for most of the contest.
Training partners Rylee Burns, Lillyana Rennie, Alison Miller and Sasha-May Flegler all saw court time in the game with Miller and Flegler both starting.
Wallam, led the scoring with 22 goals from 24 attempts including one Suncorp Super Shot in 25 minutes on the court.
Miller was a perfect 11 from 11 with her shooting while Emily Moore (three from four) and Tippah Dwan three from three with one Suncorp Super Shot were also on the scoreboard for the Firebirds.
Macy Gardner came through the entire 40 minutes, with 13 feeds and a gain in the midcourt.
Every game of the Suncorp Team Girls Cup is available to watch on Kayo Sports and Foxtel. Matches are also available to stream for free via Kayo Freebies, with no credit card details required to register.
