Round 15 DrinkWise Game Preview

WHEN: Wednesday 21 January 2026
TIME: 6pm AEDT
WHERE: Selkirk Stadium, Ballarat
TICKETS: Available via Ticketek

Bendigo Spirit are heading back to Ballarat tomorrow night, to take on the Southside Melbourne Flyers in their re-scheduled Round 13 match at Selkirk Stadium.

After the original fixture was postponed due to bushfires in the region - smoke had entered the stadium, meaning the air quality in the venue made it unsafe to play - the rescheduled match will serve as a fundraiser for the local community affected by the recent fires.

Thanks to the Spirit's game day partner, Powercor, 50% of revenue of ticket sales from the rescheduled game will be 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 will step up to the foul line and shoot as many free throws as possible. For every successful shot, Powercor will donate an additional $100 to the Carranballac Cricket Club.

Returning to their home away from home after a long trip west to take on the Perth Lynx at HoopsFest, the Spirit fought hard against the home team at RAC Arena. Despite the prolonged distance from their fans and holding the lead against the Lynx for the majority of the game, the home team managed to steal a four-point win in the dying stages of the final term.

Keeping the Spirit's League best scorer, Izzy Borlase, below 20 points allowed the Lynx’s Ally Wilson (26 points, five rebounds) and Anneli Maley (10 points, 16 rebounds) to penetrate our game play in the final term.

With an ever-fighting spirit, the Bendigo squad will bring their all to the Ballarat court as they take on the Flyers, who will be ready and raring to go off the back of a 24-point win against the Adelaide Lightning in Round 14.

Dominating efforts from Isabelle Bourne (16 points, four rebounds) and Australian Opal, Cayla George (13 points, 11 rebounds), will pose a threat to the Spirit line-up, however with both teams remaining on the road after a massive week in Perth to celebrate HoopsFest, they will be on relatively fairly even footing as they step onto the court on Wednesday.

The Spirit have held the upper hand in both previous meetings for the teams in WNBL26, off the back of standout performances from Borlase (27 points and 11 rebounds in Round 10) and Meg McConnell court (22 points and seven rebounds in Round 8) producing standout performances against the Flyers.

With both teams' now sitting third and fourth on the standing and still needing wins under their belts to qualify for the post-season, the stage is set for a highly competitive contest.