By Charlie McKay
The Sunshine Coast Lightning have delivered a dominant four-quarter performance on home soil, emerging 64-50 victors and handing the Queensland Firebirds their first loss of 2025.
Dubbed the ‘Battle of the Bruce’, the Queensland derby brought together two sides who are quiet contenders in season 2025.
The Firebirds entered the match off the back of two strong performances, while Lightning were eager to bounce back from a disappointing 45-60 loss to the Thunderbirds in Round 2.
Lightning have made it six on the trot against their cross-town rivals, while the new-look Firebirds have been halted for the first time this season.
Cara Koenen notched up her 100th national league match, having played all her games with Lightning as one of the club’s foundation players.
Lightning midcourter Mahalia Cassidy also celebrated 100 games, facing her former side in a full-circle moment.
Aussie icon Robert Irwin made the drive from Australia Zoo in a special appearance, delivering the game ball and cheering on the home team from courtside.
The UniSC arena crowd went wild for Robert IrwinFirebirds’ head coach Kiri Wills mixed things up defensively to start the game, opting for Ruby Bakewell-Doran at goal keeper with the height of Isabelle Shearer in goal defence.
Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds returned to a familiar starting lineup with Koenen in goal shooter and Steph Fretwell in goal attack.
After rotating her defensive line in the opening rounds, Reynolds started the tall timber of Ash Ervin at goal keeper to counter Mary Cholhok’s height under the post.
Spurred on by a vocal home crowd, the Lightning came out firing, capitalising on early turnovers to build a quick lead.
They moved the ball at lightning speed and had the Firebirds’ heads turning.
Wills quickly moved Shearer back to goal keeper to try and shut down an on-song Koenen under the post.
But it was to no avail, and Lightning went into the quarter time break leading 17-13.
Ervin was firing early, collecting three intercepts and four deflections in a dominant first quarter.
Ash Ervin was in scintillating formFirebirds recovered to claw back the lead early in the second, working the ball more patiently to circle edge to find Cholhok under the ring.
But Lightning pushed ahead.
Fretwell ticked over her 2,000th national league goal, while Courtney Bruce entered the court for some intimidation factor.
Reilley Batcheldor was injected for super shot impact, and Lightning powered on to take a 33-26 lead at half time.
Lightning continued to dominate in the third term, using scoreboard pressure to rattle a shaky Firebirds outfit.
The home team soared down the court, playing with freedom and moving the ball with ease.
Cholhok was notably benched, with Emily Moore and Tippah Dwan utilised to give the Firebirds a dynamic moving circle.
But the changes weren’t a sufficient answer to the humming Lightning outfit.
The Firebirds were guilty of rushed feeds and silly turnovers, and they went into the final break trailing 36-45.
Lightning’s attack only ramped up in the final term, with Fretwell, Liz Watson and Leesa Mi Mi finding Koenen under the post with precision feeds and unparalleled ball movement.
The Firebirds tried to stay in touch but were forced into missed super shots, allowing Lightning to power home.
The crowd erupted as Koenen sank two super shots in the dying minutes of the game, silencing critics and underscoring an outstanding milestone performance.
Koenen delivered her first super shot in two seasonsErvin was MVP for Lightning, finishing with 114.5 Net Points and proving she is one of the most formidable defenders in the league.
Lightning won all four quarters, delivering a near blemish-free performance and stamping their authority on the league.
It’s clear the Firebirds have work to do before facing off against powerhouses Swifts and Thunderbirds in the coming weeks.
