Soaring Sowah sizzles road-weary 4-1 Fire

• WNBL Power Rankings: Updated after every round of WNBL26
• Latest News: Read more about the WNBL here
• New Wave: Meet the WNBL26 import players
• 2025-26 WNBL Team Lists and Roster Tracker

Bendigo, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Geelong: Townsville has trekked across the length and breadth of Australia to start its WNBL26 campaign and put the league on notice, finishing the long "fatiguing" road trip 4-1 and on top of the ladder.

The Fire, home in Round 5 for the first time, crushed Geelong Venom 86-61 in Round 4 on November 7, 2025 in Geelong.

"We’re going to have those times during the season where fatigue sets in, whether we’re traveling or not," Fire centre Lauren Cox said.

That’s when we have to be professional about it — take care of our bodies off the court, get enough sleep, eat right, things like that.

"We’re all professional basketball players, and we know how to take care of ourselves.

"So whether we’re on a 10-day road trip or playing at home three games in a row, we have to take care of ourselves and push through that exhaustion."

Townsville Fire on the road

• ‍Round 1: Bendigo Spirit 66 Townsville Fire 74 (Red Energy Arena). Recap & Highlights‍
• Round 2: Canberra Capitals 70 Townsville Fire 105 (AIS Arena). Recap & Highlights‍
• Round 3: Southside Flyers 89 Townsville Fire 83 (VIC State Basketball Centre). Recap & Highlights‍
• Round 3: Perth Lynx 70 Townsville Fire 79 (Perth High Performance Centre). Recap & Highlights‍
• Round 4: Geelong Venom 61 Townsville Fire 86 (Geelong Arena).

Fire head coach Shannon Seebohm has depth for days. He brought former WNBA player Cox off the bench for Australian Opal Alex Fowler as well as Washington Mystics guard Lucy Olsen playing 27 minutes off the bench.

"It’s all of us that come off the bench," Cox said.

"We have a lot of players that can come in and make an impact. So we just tell ourselves to be ready when our name is called — whether that’s two minutes, 20 minutes, whatever it is, we have to be ready to go."

Seebohm has built a squad that is rightfully title favourites, bringing in Australian Opals guard Miela Sowah and Olsen to an already established core that made the 2025 WNBL Grand Final series.

"We’re lucky," Seebohm said.

"But if you think back to last year, we had no Opals — and now all of a sudden we have heaps because they’ve been fortunate enough to make the squad. It’s a credit to the girls for working so hard.

"Lucy’s come in with a fantastic attitude, works really hard, and I think it allows us to rotate people more often — to keep putting pressure on teams defensively and continue to play with a high pace on offense.

"The more we do it, and the more consistent we are — now that we’re going home and can get some proper practices in — we’ll find even better flow.

"Whoever starts for us is who starts, and you’ve seen the last few games we’ve had different people finishing: Courtney Woods finishing on the bench, Lucy playing key minutes down the stretch, or Abbey (Ellis). Same with Coxey, Fowler and (Alicia Froling) — it’s not always the same people starting or finishing, and that’s the beauty of our team.

"The character of the individuals we have means they buy into that and put the team before themselves."

Seebohm said Sowah was a key piece to the puzzle the Fire missed last season.

"(Miela's) been really important," Seebohm said,

"You kind of see it like the other night in Perth as well — anytime we’re struggling offensively, she always seems to step up and hit a big shot or a three, or have a little flurry of points herself and just kind of get us going again.

"Miela's fit in really well here. She’s trying to learn how we’re playing and she’s getting better with that. But just as a person and how she’s come in and fit into our team — she plays really hard on the defensive end as well, which has been great. She’s been super important.

"Last year we had a really good team and probably got to the grand final and really struggled to score, and I think someone like Miela gives us that extra piece we maybe were missing. We’ll see what happens this season, but so far she’s been amazing."

Geelong, still struggling with injuries, are on the opposite end of the ledger, in last place at 1-4.

Key Details

• Result: Townsville Fire 86 def. Geelong Venom 61
• When: 7th of November 2025
• Where: Geelong Arena, Geelong
• Standings

By the Numbers

• Miela Sowah (Townsville Fire) starred with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 32 minutes.
• Mackenzie Holmes (Geelong Venom) scored 24 points, and had eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 38 minutes.

What Happened

The Fire established control early, taking a 25-15 lead after the first quarter. They extended their advantage to 45-27 by halftime, showcasing their dominance on both ends of the court. Although Geelong fought back in the third quarter, outscoring Townsville 24-17, the Fire's substantial lead proved too much to overcome.

Townsville's balanced attack was highlighted by six players scoring in double figures. Miela Sowah led the way with 20 points, including an outstanding 5-from-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Lauren Cox provided valuable contributions off the bench with 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, posting an impressive plus-minus rating of +31.

For Geelong, Mackenzie Holmes delivered a strong individual effort with 24 points on efficient 9-from-15 shooting from the field. Jazmin Shelley contributed eight assists but struggled with turnovers, committing seven in the contest. Despite Holmes' efforts, the Venom couldn't match Townsville's firepower.

The Venom need Australian Opal Shyla Heal back as soon as possible.

The Fire's superior shooting was the difference-maker. Townsville connected on 51 per cent of their field goals (18-from-35) and an exceptional 56 per cent from three-point range (14-from-25), compared to Geelong's 46 per cent from the field and a lacklustre 17 per cent from distance (4-from-23). The Fire also dominated the rebounding battle, securing 41 boards to Geelong's 34.

Defensively, Townsville forced 13 Geelong turnovers and recorded 10 steals. Lucy Olsen was particularly disruptive with three steals in 26 minutes off the bench. The Fire's defensive intensity and efficient offense allowed them to build their biggest lead of 27 points during the contest, effectively putting the game out of reach.