2026 WNBL Finals
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| Dates | 14 February – 1 March | |||||||||
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| Season | 2025–26 | |||||||||
| Teams | 4 | |||||||||
| MVP | Courtney Woods (TSV) | |||||||||
| Semifinalists | Bendigo Spirit Southside Melbourne Flyers | |||||||||
| Matches played | 7 | |||||||||
| Attendance | 16,588 (2,370 per match) | |||||||||
| All statistics correct as of 1 March 2025. | ||||||||||
The 2026 WNBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the WNBL's 2025–26 season.[1] The Bendigo Spirit were the defending champions,[2] but they were defeated by Perth in the Semi Finals[3]. The Townsville Fire went on to win their fifth Championship title after defeating Perth in overtime to sweep the Championship series, 2–0.[4] Townsville Fire Captain, Courtney Woods was awarded the Rachael Sporn Medal for Grand Final MVP.[5] The WNBL Finals schedule was confirmed 8 February 2025,[6] followed by the Championship series schedule announced 22 February 2026.
Overview
Finals appearances
- The Townsville Fire qualified for Finals for the fourth consecutive season.
- The Perth Lynx qualified for Finals for the fifth consecutive season.
- The Bendigo Spirit qualified for Finals for the second consecutive season.
- The Southside Melbourne Flyers returned to the Finals for the first time since 2024.
- The Canberra Capitals missed Finals for the fourth consecutive season.
- The Geelong Venom missed Finals for the second consecutive season.
- The Adelaide Lightning missed Finals for the fourth consecutive season.
- The Sydney Flames missed Finals for the first time after returning in 2025.
Standings
| # | 2025–26 WNBL Championship ladder | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GP | |||||
| 1 | Townsville Fire | 19 | 4 | 118.3 | 23 | ||||
| 2 | Perth Lynx | 18 | 5 | 113.2 | 23 | ||||
| 3 | Bendigo Spirit | 16 | 7 | 106.3 | 23 | ||||
| 4 | Southside Melbourne Flyers | 11 | 12 | 101.2 | 23 | ||||
| 5 | Canberra Capitals | 9 | 14 | 92.4 | 23 | ||||
| 6 | Geelong Venom | 7 | 16 | 94.4 | 23 | ||||
| 7 | Adelaide Lightning | 6 | 17 | 89.9 | 23 | ||||
| 8 | Sydney Flames | 6 | 17 | 88.7 | 23 | ||||
Bracket
| Semi Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Townsville Fire | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Southside Melbourne Flyers | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | Townsville Fire | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Perth Lynx | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Bendigo Spirit | 0 | |||||||
| 2 | Perth Lynx | 2 | |||||||
Semi-Finals
(1) Townsville Fire vs. (4) Southside Melbourne Flyers
15 February 2026
3:00 PM (AEST) |
| Townsville Fire | 88–60 | Southside Melbourne Flyers |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–6, 20–13, 21–25, 24–16 | ||
| Pts: Ellis 20 Rebs: Froling 8 Asts: Olsen 7 |
Pts: Bourne 14 Rebs: George 10 Asts: Rocci 4 | |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville, Queensland
Attendance: 3,675 Referees: Madison Crowley-Long, Joshua Durand, Nathan Paff |
18 February 2026
7:00 PM (AEDT) |
| Southside Melbourne Flyers | 109–89 | Townsville Fire |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 23–23, 33–22, 27–24 | ||
| Pts: George 32 Rebs: George 11 Asts: Rocci 11 |
Pts: Sowah 27 Rebs: Froling 7 Asts: Woods 5 | |
State Basketball Centre, Melbourne, Victoria
Attendance: 2,014 Referees: Kyle Easther, Hugh Starkey, Travis Stewart |
22 February 2026
3:00 PM (AEST) |
| Townsville Fire | 84–74 | Southside Melbourne Flyers |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 32–21, 17–15, 14–13 | ||
| Pts: Froling 26 Rebs: Fowler, Froling 9 Asts: Olsen 5 |
Pts: George 25 Rebs: Bourne 8 Asts: Rocci 8 | |
| Townsville win series, 2–1 | ||
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville, Queensland
Attendance: 3,475 Referees: Daniel Battye, Hugh Starkey, Travis Stewart |
| Townsville won 2–1 in the regular season series |
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(2) Perth Lynx vs. (3) Bendigo Spirit
14 February 2026
1:00 PM (AWST) |
| Perth Lynx | 86–76 | Bendigo Spirit |
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 19–20, 19–10, 19–24 | ||
| Pts: Maley, Wilson 24 Rebs: Maley 13 Asts: Maley, Wilson 5 |
Pts: Borlase 22 Rebs: Borlase 16 Asts: Borlase 7 | |
Perth High Performance Centre, Perth, Western Australia
Attendance: 2,178 Referees: Daniel Battye, Jacqueline Dover, Brad Henshaw |
17 February 2026
7:00 PM (AEDT) |
| Bendigo Spirit | 75–81 | Perth Lynx |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 17–23, 24–21, 13–17 | ||
| Pts: Borlase 23 Rebs: Griffin 15 Asts: Borlase 8 |
Pts: Han 25 Rebs: Han, Maley 14 Asts: Wilson 6 | |
| Perth win series, 2–0 | ||
Red Energy Arena, Bendigo, Victoria
Attendance: 1,355 Referees: Scott Beker, Shannon Jennings, Bianca Vernon |
| Perth won 2–1 in the regular season series |
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Championship Series
(1) Townsville Fire vs. (2) Perth Lynx
26 February 2026
6:00 PM (AEST) |
| Townsville Fire | 88–79 | Perth Lynx |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 22–23, 24–10, 22–24 | ||
| Pts: Woods 22 Rebs: Ellis, Fowler, Froling 7 Asts: Ellis 6 |
Pts: Atwell 19 Rebs: Maley 15 Asts: Maley 6 | |
Townsville Entertainment Centre, Townsville, Queensland
Attendance: 3,891 Referees: Daniel Battye, Shannon Jennings, Bianca Vernon |
1 March 2026
1:00 PM (AWST) |
| Perth Lynx | 105–108 (OT) | Townsville Fire |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 19–30, 26–24, 21–18, Overtime: 13–16 | ||
| Pts: Maley 27 Rebs: Maley 19 Asts: Wilson 9 |
Pts: Woods 28 Rebs: Fowler 9 Asts: Woods 7 | |
| Townsville win series, 2–0 | ||
Perth High Performance Centre, Perth, Western Australia
Referees: Joshua Durand, Hugh Starkey, Travis Stewart |
| Townsville won 2–1 in the regular season series |
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Rosters
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References
- ^ WNBL official website
- ^ "Bendigo Spirit claim third WNBL title with grand final game two victory over Townsville Fire". abc.net.au.
- ^ "Spirit's title defence ends in thriller as legendary leader ponders her future". bendigoadvertiser.com.au.
- ^ "Townsville fire to win WNBL title after OT thriller". espn.com.au.
- ^ "'Greatest': Fire crowned WNBL champs after OT thriller". canberratimes.com.au.
- ^ "WNBL26 Finals Series Confirmed". wnbl.com.au.