Borlase stars as Spirit defend Ballarat fortress

A HAPPY home away from home, Bendigo Spirit returned to the WNBL’s list with a toughly fought 10-point win over Southside Melbourne Flyers in Ballarat last week.

Exceptionally led by star recruit Isobel Borlase, who complemented a WNBL career-high 42 points with six rebounds and five assists, the Spirit snapped a two-game losing streak, charging home for a 98-88 victory before a crowd of 951 at Selkirk Stadium.

The clash – the Spirit’s second in Ballarat this season – had to be transferred from 14 January, due to concerns about the extreme heat and poor air quality caused by this month’s bushfires in Victoria.

Sitting atop the league ladder going into the new year, the Spirit had dropped their first two games in 2026, one either side of the postponed 14 January clash.

Beaten by Perth Lynx as part of the HoopsFest extravaganza in Perth the previous week, the Spirit roared back into form against the Flyers, converting a slender one-point half-time lead into a six-point deficit at the final change and eventually a 10-point triumph.

Opals star Borlase enhanced her league MVP claims with another astonishing performance.

A candidate for the most dominant performance of the season to date, the 21-year-old guard shot an exceptional 12-from-21 from the field, including a stellar six-from-nine from beyond the arc.

She was a perfect 12-from-12 from the free-throw line.

Hometown product Abbey Wehrung (16 points, including four three-pointers) and import Megan McConnell (13 points, eight assists, five rebounds) provided key support.

Cayla George top-scored for the Flyers with 20 points and had a team-high nine rebounds.

Asked about Borlase’s extraordinary impact against the Flyers, Spirit coach Kennedy Kereama said he and the team were “incredibly proud” before declaring it was why they had pursued the Opals star so hard in the off-season.

“Izzy puts so much work into her game and she’s an absolute gym-rat,” he said.

“She’s not just necessarily working on the physical parts, but other parts of her game, whether it’s in the gym, working with other staff, or whether it’s working on other aspects of her game.

“She’s putting in a lot of time and really trying to build and continue to work on her craft.

“To see that being rewarded that way is incredible; incredible for her and incredible for her confidence and incredible for the team as well, to get to experience that with her.

“We spoke about it in the locker room and she (Borlase) is aware of it – we know she’s an incredible talent and her teammates do such a great job of creating and putting her in those situations.

“We’ve got the confidence – that’s what we brought Izzy here to do.

“So if she wants to do it for eight or nine more times this season, I won’t be complaining, I’ll be enjoying that.”

Kereama doubled down on hailing Borlase as his choice as league MVP.

With the support of the Spirit’s game-day partner Powercor, 50 per cent of all ticket revenue from the game was donated to the Carranballac Cricket Club, which was destroyed during the recent bushfires in the Streatham area, west of Ballarat.

To add to the fundraising efforts, at each quarter-time break a Powercor linesperson stepped-up to the foul line to shoot as many free throws as possible.

Powercor donated an additional $100 to the Carranballac Cricket Club for each successful free throw.

It was a cause close to the heart of Spirit star Wehrung, last season’s league sixth player of the year winner, who revealed pre-game that her grandparents had lost both their Natimuk home and their pets, in the recent fires.

“It’s awful for them and it’s really hit home,” she said.

“So much of Victoria has been affected, so I think it’s really special that we play this round and raise some funds for much-needed ongoing support.

“The biggest thanks to anyone who has gotten behind anyone that has been affected by the bushfires, especially my family.

“It’s been incredible to see complete strangers and people that know me, but don’t know them (grandparents), just get behind them and offer so much support in so many ways.”

The Spirit have now won three straight games at Selkirk Stadium over the past two seasons.

They came from behind to defeat the Flyers in their 2024-25 championship-winning season during November of 2024, and last month thrashed Geelong Venom by 35 points.