Shannon Seebohm isn't satisfied with the Townsville Fire's 88-79 victory against a "very bad" Perth Lynx, urging them to tighten up after his side took a 1-0 lead in the WNBL grand final series.
Townsville's coach had spoken of the strong rivalry between the two competition heavyweights and, on Thursday night, both teams showed why.
With 27 lead changes occurring, tensions ran high inside a deafening Townsville Entertainment Centre, with much of the first half locked in a one-possession game.
But it was 10 minutes of third-quarter magic spearheaded by captain Courtney Woods (10 points in the period) that broke the physical clash open as Townsville won the quarter 24-10.
Leading by 11 points at the final break, Townsville withstood Perth's desperate offense to move within one win of their first title since 2023.
Woods was the game-defining player, firing her first 20-point-plus performance in a month with 22 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
Human highlights reel Miela Sowah was also busy against her old team, registering 20 points while Alicia Froling continued her hot finals form with 17 points and seven boards for the winners.
"Today was the Lynx's game. They shot 36 threes," a disgruntled Seebohm said.
"We really want to tighten up defensively. I thought we had a number of breakdowns today."
Seebohm also tasked his side to attempt another 15 three-pointers in their second game on Sunday in Perth after bucketing just four triples on the night.
Although, it was the Fire's dominance of the paint (29 two-pointers made, 15 offensive rebounds) which proved the difference.
Coach Ryan Petrik will have to work out a solution if the Lynx are to level the best-of-three tie and keep their hopes of securing a championship for the first time since 1992 afloat.
"It was just really bad … It hurts a lot," Petrik said.
"We couldn't get our schemes right. I don't know what happened."
The Fire will also have to get better at keeping Perth's towering superstar Han Xu under wraps after she posted 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
Her performance came after Townsville used pool noodles to recreate the 211cm Chinese international's wingspan during the week.
Four other Perth players produced double-digit performances, with Amy Atwell's 19 points and Anneli Maley's 12 points, 15 boards, and three steals major.
A controversial call did overshadow the game when Maley's three-pointer was scratched because of a foul call. The triple was added back onto the scoreboard after further scrutiny.
The Fire produced an 8-2 spree after halftime and, compounded by Woods' pinpoint shooting, they ballooned their lead to a game-high 13 points midway through the period.
Perth did cut the deficit to five points late in the fourth quarter, but Townsville held strong to emerge victorious.
