Townsville Fire too good for Geelong United

GEELONG United was defeated by Townsville Fire, going down by 19 points last Saturday (January 25) in their WNBL clash. The teams faced off in Round 13 and Geelong started the game strongly, finishing the first term just three points behind the top-four side. United managed to hang on for the first three quarters before making some crucial mistakes, leading to an 89-70 point loss. Geelong United coach Chris Lucas said his side had missed some opportunities in the game and was undisciplined in some areas. “We had foul trouble in the first half and had people sitting that should have been playing, and they just wore us down and the rebound count and the undisciplined box-outs of foul shots, they really hurt us.”

  United’s Jazmine Shelley was crucial throughout the game, scoring 19 of the team’s points, while Alex Sharpe produced 13 points and 13 rebounds. Lucas said he does not have to question the team’s effort and it goes into every game trying to win. “We’re a brand-new team, a brand new franchise, we’ve got some terrific pieces, young group, a lot of girls in the team are first-year players and they’re going to be up and down,” he said. “We’re pretty happy with where we’re at to be quite honest; would we like to win some more games, of course we would.” The loss comes as United’s Taylor Mole was ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ongoing back injury. Geelong United returned to the court at the Geelong Arena on Wednesday night (January 29) where it took on top team Bendigo Spirit for a special ‘Pride’ round. United will play again on February 1 at the Geelong Arena against the UC Capitals, with tip-off at 7.30pm. For more information and tickets to the game, head to wnbl.basketball/geelong