The Southern Design Sydney Uni Flames have been defeated by the Townsville Fire 85-78 after been held to 11 fourth quarter points in their Elimination Final on Wednesday night in Townsville RSL Stadium.
Amy Denson top-scored for the Flames with 18 points while Belinda Snell finished with 17 points and 8 boards.
The Fire were the strongest out of the blocks, shooting a scintillating 70 per cent from the field and jumping out to a 30-22 margin at the end of the first term.
The Flames were better in the second quarter but could only make up two points in ground, heading into the change rooms trailing by six points.
The Fire lost their hot shooting hand after half time, their field goal percentage dropping to the mid-30s, and the Flames slowly clawed their way back before drawing level off the back of a Lauren King three-point bucket with just over four minutes to play in the third.
Casey Lockwood connected on two baskets late however, to give the Fire a slender two-point lead going into a thrilling final term.
In the last quarter, both teams found points hard to come by, Sydney Uni drawing level a number of times, with Townsville continually getting their noses back in front through the likes of Jess Foley and Mia Newley.
With just over two minutes on the game clock, Micaela Cocks scored, which sparked a little run, with Newley and Rachael Flanagan also contributing, giving the home side some breathing space down the stretch.
Sydney Uni turned to their stars in Snell and Denson, but some huge defensive plays by Mia Newley and Jess Foley down the stretch held off the Flames, and secured the win for Townsville and a match-up on Sunday afternoon in a Semi Final with the Dandenong Rangers.
Townsville Fire 85 (Foley 21, Dowdell 14) defeated Sydney Uni. Flames (Denson 18, Snell 17)
