Round 11 DrinkWise Game Preview

WHEN: Wednesday 31 December, 2025
TIME: 7.30pm AEDT
WHERE: Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville
WATCH: 9Now, ESPN on Disney+, ESPN2

Bendigo Spirit are gearing up for their biggest match of the season thus far, as the reigning champions prepare to take on the Townsville Fire in their opponents’ backyard. Bendigo will hit the road after a quick Christmas break, looking to bring in the new year with their tenth consecutive victory.

After knocking the Fire off the top of the standings after a falter in performance at the hands of the Perth Lynx in Round 9, the Spirit have confidently reclaimed their position at the top-of-the-table, and will bring a hunger to reach their 10^th uninterrupted win to ring in the New Year.

The irony won't be lost on the Spirit that the last time they played at the Townsville Entertainment Centre, they left the floor as WNBL Champions - a title they are very keen to defend.

With the Spirit taking a 10-point win to close out Round 10 against the Southside Melbourne Flyers, Izzy Borlase performed nothing short of her consistent best, notching 27 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Despite their competitive edge, Borlase and the Spirit squad will have their work cut out for them against the Fire, with efforts from Alicia Froling (25 points, eight rebounds) and Abbey Ellis (16 points) allowing the team to quickly bounce back after a shattering loss to the Lynx with a Round 10 thriller against the Sydney Flames.

The teams last met in Round 1 of the WNBL26 season, with Fire taking the win over Spirit (66-74). However, with Izzy Borlase having had plenty of time to find her feet in the 10 rounds since, and Kelsey Griffin well and truly stepping into fill the shoes of both co-captains in the absence of Marianna Tolo, the Spirit will bring endless grit to Wednesday night’s game.

With both teams fighting tooth-and-nail to avoid another loss tarnishing their so far near-perfect WNBL26 campaigns - as well as top-of-the-ladder privileges - the Fire and Spirit will bring the heat to the Townsville court on the final night of 2025.