Swain's 40-piece not enough as Flames fall to Fire

The Sydney Flames slumped to an 89-75 loss to the Townsville Fire on Wednesday night, despite a career-high 40 points from guard Shaneice Swain.

Match summary

The two rivals traded buckets early on, with it being 13-12 following a Swain triple. But the hosts, sparked by Alex Fowler, finished the period on a 12-2 run, to hold an 11-point lead at the first change.

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The second timer belonged to the hosts at the Townsville Entertainment Centre, who outscored the Flames 33-20, to hold a 24-point lead at the main break.

A low-scoring third quarter ensued, which saw the Hoops Capital side dig in on the defensive end and win the period by two.

Despite Cayla George fouling out early in the fourth, the harbour city side won the fourth period thanks to a scoring outburst by Swain, who had 21 of the team's 26 points - seeing the Flasmes win the period 26-18 and only fall by 14.

Where the match was decided

The Fire won the game on the back of superior statistics in free throws shot (16/23 compared to 1/2), rebounds (41-27), assists (22-13), points in the paint (46-30), points off turnovers (26-19), bench points (26-10) and fastbreak points (16-6).

Key moment

Once again, a slow start by the Flames hurt them, trailing by double-digits early in the second term - which they were never able to overturn.

Player of the game

Swain was the standout for Guy Molloy's side, being the only person to score in double-digits - finishing with 40 points (including seven triples), six rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.

What's next

The Flames, who are now 6-10, now return home for a round 13 clash with Perth at Quaycentre on Saturday, January 25 - with tickets still available here.