Vixens secure finals ticket

By Charlie McKay

The Melbourne Vixens have secured a finals spot after a hard-fought 64-62 win over the Queensland Firebirds.

A packed-out John Cain Arena crowd spurred the Vixens to victory in the team's final home game for the season.  

It was a see-sawing affair, with Firebirds drawing first blood before the Vixens quickly responded to level the score.  

A string of turnovers – capped off by a missed super shot from Abigail Latu-Meafou – opened the door for the Vixens to take control.

A Kiera Austin super shot sealed a clinical opening term, with the Vixens heading into quarter time up 18-13.

But the Firebirds flipped the script in the second term.

Head coach Kiri Wills rung in the changes, bringing on Ashlee Barnett to shut down an on-song Sophie Garbin under the post.

The change proved disruptive as the Vixens attack began to falter, coughing up valuable possession.

Ruby Bakewell-Doran was in fine form, taking Austin out of the game at times and collecting four gains, two rebounds and an intercept.

Emily Moore was injected for some precision in the front end, nailing a pair of super shots to close the gap.  

The visitors capitalised on the momentum shift, catching the Vixens flat-footed and edging ahead 32-31 at the main break.

Despite the Firebirds' second quarter run, Wills opted to return to their opening line up with Latu-Meafou in goal attack.

But the move backfired as they became stilted again in attack.  

The Vixens seized the opportunity, injecting Kate Eddy into goal defence and shifting Jo Weston to the wing to disrupt the feed into 201cm target Mary Cholhok.

At the other end, Austin and Garbin rediscovered their connection, combining for 18 goals and stretching the lead to 49-44 heading into the final term.

It was neck and neck through the final quarter, with the Vixens clinging to their narrow buffer as the Firebirds struggled to make inroads.

But alarm bells rang for the Vixens in the Power Five, with Latu-Meafou and Moore combining for a flurry of super shots that closed the gap to just one goal.

Still, the experienced Vixens held their nerve, managing the clock and closing out a hard-fought 64-62 victory.

Vixens will head west to take on the Fever next week, while Firebirds will take on the Swifts at home.