The Fever made a blistering start racing out to a 5-0 lead inside the opening three minutes as Sasha Glasgow immediately found her rhythm. The Firebirds struggled to settle early, prompting a timeout with the score already blown out to 7-1.
In search of answers under the post, the Firebirds made an early change, replacing Mary Cholhok with Elsa Sif Sandholt. But the Fever continued to control the tempo, moving the ball with precision through court while Glasgow fired on all cylinders in the shooting circle.
The visitors’ efficiency proved the difference, holding a 75 per cent centre-pass conversion rate to just 35 per cent for the Firebirds.
Forced to rely on Suncorp Super Shots just to stay in touch, the hosts were unable to slow Fever's momentum as the visitors stormed to a commanding nine-goal lead at quarter-time.
Ruth Aryang continued to wreak havoc in defence as the Fever tightened their grip on the contest in the second quarter.
The visitors continued to back their starting seven throughout the term, while the Firebirds searched for answers with multiple changes to their lineup. Romelda Aiken-George provided a cheeky layup on her way out of court, while the home side looked a far cry from the team that defeated the GIANTS last weekend.
Despite only trailing the quarter by two goals heading into the Power Five period, the Firebirds conversion issues continued to hurt them - managing just 48 per cent of centre-pass conversions compared to the Fever’s clinical 85 per cent. The hosts 68 per cent shooting accuracy only compounded the problem as the visitors powered to a 38-18 halftime lead.
The third quarter followed a familiar pattern, with Fever continuing to dominate as the Firebirds’ unforced turnovers piled up. The hosts looked to Suncorp Super Shots to spark a comeback, but every challenge was quickly answered at the other end.
By the final break, Fever had stretched their lead to a commanding 28-goal advantage.
The Firebirds showed plenty of fight in the final quarter, making a fast start to force tactical changes from Fever, with Ruth Aryang shifted to goal keeper and Liv Wilkinson injected into the shooting circle.
Playing with far more freedom, the hosts finally found some momentum as Fever’s changes struggled to stem the flow. The Queensland side produced its best quarter of the match to finish strongly, taking the term 23-13, but Fever had already done enough to secure a comfortable 69-51 victory.
