	{"id":172237,"date":"2025-10-14T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=172237"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:44:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T01:44:29","slug":"geelong-knock-off-spirit-in-final-preseason-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/geelong-knock-off-spirit-in-final-preseason-match\/","title":{"rendered":"Geelong knock off Spirit in final preseason match"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GEELONG Venom have rounded out their preseason with a 10-point win over Bendigo Spirit at Warrnambool Stadium on Saturday last week.<\/p>\n<p>In a tight affair, the <a href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/moody-joins-geelong-venom\/\">Venom<\/a> pulled away in the final quarter to win 79-69 and take some momentum into their inaugural season in the WNBL.<\/p>\n<p>The Spirit finished the first quarter with a two-point lead before Geelong steadied and took a three-point lead into half time.<\/p>\n<p>Both sides scored 20 points apiece in the third quarter, with Geelong maintaining their three-point lead with one quarter to play. They then started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run and kept Bendigo at arm&#8217;s length for the remainder of the match to secure the victory.<\/p>\n<p>American import duo <a href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/wnba-talent-holmes-signs-with-venom\/\">Mackenzie Holmes<\/a> and Alissa Pili led the way in their first appearance for the Venom. Holmes scored 20 points on 70% shooting and also added nine rebounds, whilst Pili had 18 points, five rebounds and two steals.<\/p>\n<p>Local guard Gemma Potter, who also played for Geelong United in their recent NBL1 South season, had 10 points and three rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>Abbey Wehrung had 19 points for the Spirit, whilst Marianna Tolo contributed 16 points and four rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>Geelong now turn their attention to <a href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/geelong-united-wnbls-rebrand-strikes\/\">their first official hit out in the WNBL<\/a> when they host the Sydney Flames at Geelong Arena. The match will tip off at 7pm on October 18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GEELONG Venom have rounded out their preseason with a 10-point win over Bendigo Spirit at Warrnambool Stadium on Saturday last week. In a tight affair, the Venom pulled away in the final quarter to win 79-69 and take some momentum into their inaugural season in the WNBL. The Spirit finished the first quarter with a [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/geelong-knock-off-spirit-in-final-preseason-match\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":172238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-172237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Geelong knock off Spirit in final preseason match - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Geelong Venom defeat Bendigo Spirit 79-69 in final preseason match, led by Mackenzie Holmes and Alissa Pili, ahead of their WNBL season opener.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/geelong-knock-off-spirit-in-final-preseason-match\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Geelong knock off Spirit in final preseason match - 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