Perth Lynx lose game one of WNBL grand final to Townsville Fire after controversial foul call swings game

Perth Lynx will have to do it the hard way if they are to win their first WNBL championship since 1992 after a bizarre refereeing call swung the opening game of the grand final series against Townsville. The Lynx lost game one to the Fire 88-79 at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Thursday and must now win Sunday’s clash at the Perth High Performance Centre to keep the season alive. A controversial decision during the third quarter turned the game and left Lynx perplexed. Anneli Maley levelled the scores with a three-pointer that bobbled on the rim, but the points were waved away amid a foul call against Alex Ciabattoni as players jostled for position inside the key. The ball had already gone through the hoop when the whistle sounded, but the referees denied the score. Townsville seized momentum from that moment, scoring 12 points to four for the remainder of the quarter. When they scored the first basket of the final quarter, they held a match-winning 13-point lead. Yet bizarrely, the referees then changed the score 25 minutes later. They told the coaches that Maley’s three-pointer would count midway through the final period. By that time, Townsville already led by 15 points. Perth got the deficit back to five points inside the final minute but ran out of time. Courtney Woods (22 points), Miela Sowah (20) and Alicia Froling (17) set up the win for Townsville. Amy Atwell (19 points) and Maley (12 points and 15 rebounds) were influential for Perth, but the Lynx struggled to get 211cm Chinese star Han Xu involved for most of the game. It looked like a Townsville style of game early. They put physical pressure on the Lynx, forced turnovers, and Froling had a great start. The Fire broke clear by five points and neither team was making three pointers, but Maley’s rebounding kept her team calm. She had seven rebounds in the first quarter and gave Perth a two-point lead at quarter-time. The Lynx seized control early in the second quarter and took a six-point lead on the back of successive three-pointers from Steph Gorman and Atwell. Sowah’s shooting prowess stood out for Townsville though. She scored 12 points in the second period and made huge three-pointers to ignite the home crowd. The Fire also won six offensive rebounds for the quarter to maintain pressure on the visitors. Perth had all the answers though as Atwell and Gorman replied with triples of their own and when Tegan Graham nailed another on the buzzer, Perth led by three points at half-time. Townsville then stormed clear in the second half and they have now won three of the four clashes against Perth this season. The Fire lost last season’s grand final to Bendigo but won in 2023. It is Perth’s third grand final in three seasons but they haven’t won in more than 30 years. Sunday’s game sold out on Thursday morning and the Lynx will shatter their home attendance record with more than 4000 fans preparing to pack the Perth High Performance Centre.