Champions! Whitcomb's Spirit sweep Townsville

• The Bendigo Spirit win their first WNBL championship in 11 years, beating Townsville 63-55 in game two
• Sami Whitcomb had 26 points to win the Rachael Sporn Medal for the Grand Final MVP
• Lauren Cox led the Fire in scoring with 17 points

Sami Whitcomb's career is complete after the MVP led the Bendigo Spirit to their first WNBL championship in 11 years, sweeping the Townsville Fire after a 63-55 win in game two of the Grand Final series at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.

Whitcomb dominated for the Spirit scoring 26 points in one of the most physical contests of the season to claim her maiden WNBL championship and be named the Rachael Sporn Medallist for the Grand Final MVP to add to the league MVP she won last month.

Both teams struggled to adapt to the physical nature of the game allowed by the officials in the opening quarter but it was the more experienced Spirit, who were able to create better quality shots and open up an early lead.

Having been held to just nine points in game one, Courtney Woods came out aggressive for the Fire, attacking the paint at will before Cox followed her lead. The Defensive Player of the Year went at experienced opponent Marianna Tolo in the post, forcing the Australian Opals veteran to the bench with two fouls in the first quarter as Townsville held a 21-20 advantage at the first break.

While the Fire were able to limit the impact of Veronica Burton, Kelly Wilson and Kesley Griffin in the first half, Whitcomb took it upon herself to keep the scoreboard ticking over for the visitors, picking apart the home side's pick and roll coverage to get to the rim and also hit from the perimeter.

But it was Townsville's dominance on the glass which allowed them to maintain their lead, grabbing 11 offensive rebounds compared to just two from Bendigo, leading to 12 second chance points for the Fire. A last-minute play from Spirit coach Kennedy Kereama worked to perfection as Wilson hit Whitcomb on a back-cut for an open layup to reduce the deficit to just 34-33 at halftime.

The experience of the Spirit showed early in the third quarter after increasing the physicality defensively, making it tougher for Woods and making an effort to keep the Fire's bigs off the offensive glass. A Whitcomb triple in front of the Townsville bench completed an 8-4 run for Bendigo and forced a timeout from Seebohm.

US import Nia Coffey answered right back for the home team, hitting a three out of the Seebohm timeout to break out of her slum following a four-point performance in game one. However, Bendigo's defence continued to suffocate the Fire while Whitcomb saw an opportunity offensively and took full advantage as she connected on two more triples to take over the game for Bendigo and go into three-quarter time with a 46-41 lead.

The Fire needed a spark early in the fourth quarter after nerves seemed to grab a hold of them in the third and thought they may have received it after Whitcomb was called for her fourth foul. Townsville wasn't able to take advantage though with the Spirit continuing to make big plays, including Veronica Burton drawing a charge defensively on Coffey to stop the Fire in transition.

Bendigo stayed with their tactic of allowing Cox to fire away from the perimeter and the American couldn't connect, going 1-from-6 from the three-point line, before an Abbey Wehrung triple from the corner sucked the life out of the Townsville Entertainment Centre and forced Seebohm to call a timeout with the Spirit leading 51-41 with 7:12 remaining in the game.

Alex Fowler then gave the Fire a bit of life with a transition basket before Whitcomb answered right back with a tough layup of her own. The stars came out to play in the fourth as Woods was fouled on a made mid-range jump shot to have Townsville back within five points as Kereama called a timeout of his own with 4:16 left.

Abbey Ellis, who was quiet all game offensively, hit the biggest three of the game to go within two points as the Townsville Entertainment Centre erupted before Tolo answered right back with an and-one to push the lead back to 58-53 with two minutes remaining.

Whitcomb then had the chance to all-but seal the championship for the Spirit from the free-throw line but she missed both. In arguably the biggest plays of the game, Tolo grabbed the offensive rebound off the missed free-throw before making a tough layup over Cox as Bendigo went just 55 seconds away from the title with a 60-53 advantage.

The Fire needed to make something happen quickly on the offensive end and Coffey was able to find her way to the free-throw line but she only made one from two. Townsville then turned to full court pressure defensively to get back in the game and it worked as Fowler got a crucial steal, providing energy like she had all game but once again, could only connect on one free-throw as the home team trailed 60-55 with just 38 seconds left.

Bendigo struggled to deal with Townsville's pressure in the dying stages as the Fire forced a jump ball off the sideline out of bounds play with the possession arrow in their favour. Woods couldn't make the Fire pay, missing a tough layup to eat into Bendigo's lead.

And who else would it be but Whitcomb, who made three free-throws in the final 20 seconds to cap-off a performance symbolic of league MVP honours and lead the Spirit to an eight-point win and a drought-breaking WNBL championship.

Whitcomb finished with 26 points, going 9-from-15 from the field and 4-from-8 from the three-point line, along with four steals while she was supported by Tolo with 17 points and nine rebounds and Griffin had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The WNBL championship adds to Whitcomb's career, which includes two NBA titles, an Olympic bronze medal and two FIBA World Cup medals. For her teammates in Wilson, Tolo and Griffin the win is their fifth WNBL title.

Cox led the way for Townsville with 17 points and six rebounds but the Spirit did a job defensively on Woods (10 points) and Coffey (four points) once again.