Career-best Courtney to lead Fire out of the Woods

• The Bendigo Spirit lead the WNBL Finals series 1-0 after a 70-60 win in game one in Bendigo
• Bendigo held Courtney Woods (13 points) and Nia Coffey (five points) to a combined 18 points in the series opener
• Woods was included in her first Australian Opals squad after a career season with the Fire

Townsville Fire coach Shannon Seebohm always knew Courtney Woods was a special scorer but several big-name departures this past offseason gave her an opportunity she never had in her WNBL career and that would take her game to the next level.

Previously an off-the-ball scorer for the Fire, with the likes of Steph Reid, Lauren Nicholson and even Sami Whitcomb taking the ball-handling responsibilities, Woods was handed the play-making reins by Seebohm this season and she hasn't disappointed.

She has had a career-year in the WNBL, showcasing she has the ability to create with the ball in her hands, not only for herself but for her teammates, averaging 5.5 assists this season to go along with 16.3 points per game and 5.9 rebounds.

The 26-year-old, who re-signed with Townsville until the end of the 2026/27 season, also had four games with more than 10 assists during the regular season and her ability to step up into a bigger role played a major role in the Fire returning to the WNBL Finals, where they try and keep their season alive in game two today after losing the series opener against the Bendigo Spirit on Thursday.

"We wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for her, she's had a great year and I'm really proud of the progress that she's made every year that she's been (in Townsville)," Seebohm said.

"I think this year we've put the ball in her hands a lot more and she's really developed her ability to bring her teammates into the game and make plays for other people. I think that's been the biggest thing this year that's been different and that's kind of stood out is just how good she's been at those things.

"She's always been an efficient and effective scorer but her ability to score out of the pick and roll now, not just play off the ball and attack closeouts and shoot threes but actually play with the ball in her hands has been a really big development."

It's that progress and career-best form which has led to Woods being included in her first Australian Opals squad ahead of a Trans-Tasman series against New Zealand in May and Seebohm believed she brought a point of difference to the national team.

"She's a little bit more poised and composed and again, doesn't get sped up, like athleticism probably isn't her strength but she hasn't had any problems against any of those types of players, whether it's Steph Talbot, Sami Whitcomb, Ally Wilson in the Perth series or other players, like Steph Gorman, who is a great defender," he said.

"Like I think she's always been able to play at her speed and her tempo and nothing kind of rattles her too much. So, I think she's definitely put herself in the mix for (Opals selection) and I'm excited to see how she goes at the camp and what happens with the Opals stuff in the future for her."

But despite a big season, the Fire will need more from Woods as well as her teammate in US import, Nia Coffey, after the Spirit held the pair to just 18 points between them in the 70-60 win in the series opener.

Seebohm said he was happy with the team's defence but offensively, they never found their rhythm all game, something he hoped to recapture in fron tof their home fans later today.

"I think we just didn't play with any flow and the ball movement wasn't very good. Bendigo really helped off our bigs quite a bit, so we've talked a little bit about how to combat some of that," he said.

"Hopefully we can play at a bit better pace tomorrow and hopefully just execute a little bit better and keep the ball moving and create some better shots.

"I think the playing with pace, being able to get out and transition a little bit more probably helps those two (Woods and Coffey) and then just the flow into our offence. We just didn't move the ball, we didn't punish the way Bendigo were defending us sort of anywhere near enough and that probably meant that Nia and Courtney probably didn't get as much of the ball either.

"We just got to fix that stuff up and I think the good thing is the girls are still locked into that and they're still bought into what we do and now we just have to do it a little bit better."

With the nerves of their season being on the line and only Woods left from the Fire's 2022/23 championship team, Seebohm said the key for his group was just to keep everything as normal as possible.

"We recognise that obviously if we lose the game, the season's over, but we also look at the positive side of that, that we have an opportunity to play another game together and really just focus on the process of it," he said.

"So we're not worrying about the result, not worrying about the scoreboard, we're just trying to play as hard as we can and play as disciplined as we can."

Game two at the Townsville Entertainment Centre tips-off at 2pm AEST.