The 2020 WNBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the WNBL's 2020 season.[1] The Canberra Capitals were the two-time defending champions, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Melbourne. The Southside Flyers won the Grand Final, defeating the Townsville Fire, 99–82.[2] The Flyers took home the franchise's fourth WNBL title overall, this being their first since rebranding as Southside.
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| Dates | 16 – 20 December 2020 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Leilani Mitchell (STH) | |||||||||
| Preliminary final | Townsville def. Melbourne, 65–62 | |||||||||
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a condensed season was held in a North Queensland hub.[3] The season was originally 2020–21 and would be traditionally played over several months across the summer, however this season's scheduling has been amended. The six-week season saw Townsville, Cairns and Mackay host a 52-game regular season fixture, plus a four game Finals series (2 x semi-finals, preliminary final and grand final).[4] The WNBL Finals series schedule and ticketing details were announced 5 December 2020.[5]
Standings
edit| # | WNBL Championship ladder | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GP | |||||
| 1 | Southside Flyers | 11 | 2 | 84.6 | 13 | ||||
| 2 | Townsville Fire | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 | ||||
| 3 | Canberra Capitals | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 | ||||
| 4 | Melbourne Boomers | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 | ||||
| 5 | Sydney Uni Flames | 5 | 8 | 38.5 | 13 | ||||
| 6 | Adelaide Lightning | 5 | 8 | 38.5 | 13 | ||||
| 7 | Perth Lynx | 4 | 9 | 30.8 | 13 | ||||
| 8 | Bendigo Spirit | 0 | 13 | 0.0 | 13 | ||||
Bracket
edit| Semifinals | Preliminary final | Grand final | |||||||||||
| Southside Flyers | 106 | Southside Flyers | 99 | ||||||||||
| Townsville Fire | 93 | Townsville Fire | 82 | ||||||||||
| Townsville Fire | 65 | ||||||||||||
| Melbourne Boomers | 62 | ||||||||||||
| Canberra Capitals | 68 | ||||||||||||
| Melbourne Boomers | 78 | ||||||||||||
Semi-finals
edit(1) Southside Flyers vs. (2) Townsville Fire
edit16 December 2020
7:00 PM (AEST) |
| Southside Flyers | 106–93 | Townsville Fire |
| Scoring by quarter: 41–25, 19–27, 26–22, 20–19 | ||
| Pts: Cambage 31 Rebs: Cambage 18 Asts: Mitchell 10 |
Pts: Heal, Nicholson 30 Rebs: Aokuso, Nicholson 6 Asts: Heal 7 | |
Townsville Stadium, Townsville, Queensland
Attendance: 1,235 Referees: Byron Geddes, James Griguol, Jack Taylor |
(3) Canberra Capitals vs. (4) Melbourne Boomers
editPreliminary Final
edit(2) Townsville Fire vs. (4) Melbourne Boomers
edit18 December 2020
6:00 PM (AEST) |
| Townsville Fire | 65–62 | Melbourne Boomers |
| Scoring by quarter: 22–17, 11–12, 21–18, 11–15 | ||
| Pts: Heal 28 Rebs: McKay, Nicholson 8 Asts: Payne 4 |
Pts: Magbegor 19 Rebs: George 10 Asts: Madgen 6 | |
Townsville Stadium, Townsville, Queensland
Attendance: 849 Referees: Daniel Battye, Madi Crowley-Long, Guy Richards |
Grand Final
edit(1) Southside Flyers vs. (2) Townsville Fire
edit20 December 2020
2:00 PM (AEST) |
| Southside Flyers | 99–82 | Townsville Fire |
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 26–24, 23–15, 28–21 | ||
| Pts: Mitchell 31 Rebs: Cambage 8 Asts: Mitchell 5 |
Pts: Nicholson 20 Rebs: Heal, McKay, Nicholson 7 Asts: Nicholson 4 | |
Townsville Stadium, Townsville, Queensland
Attendance: 1,825 Referees: Daniel Battye, James Griguol, Jack Taylor |
Rosters
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References
edit- ^ "MEDIA GUIDE - WNBL". wnbl.com.au. Archived from the original on 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
- ^ "Flyers reach potential earn redemption for WNBL championship". wnbl.basketball.
- ^ Elkerton, Matthew; Charles, Caitlan (22 September 2020). "Townsville launches bid to host bubble for upcoming WNBL season". TownsvilleBulletin.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
A council report has detailed a proposal to host, and be central to, the 2020/21 WNBL season within a coronavirus 'bubble'. It's understood the WNBL has plans to host the games wholly within North Queensland, taking advantage of state government grants funding.
- ^ "QUEENSLAND SET TO HOST 2020 CHEMIST WAREHOUSE WNBL SEASON". wnbl.basketball. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "2020 WNBL FINAL SERIES VENUE AND TICKETING DETAILS REVEALED". australia.basketball.