THE Australian Pork Bendigo Spirit bounced back from consecutive losses in dominant style on Sunday, crushing the West Coast Waves by 25 points in their WNBL clash.
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The Spirit won 80-55, blowing the Waves away in the middle two quarters of the battle at the WA Basketball Centre - a venue Bendigo lost in by 11 points earlier in the season.
Scores were level at 21-apiece at quarter-time, before the Spirit unleashed brilliant second and third terms.
The Spirit outscored the Waves 47-22 during the middle two quarters in what was the defining 20 minutes of the game.
“We did a particularly good job defensively in those second and third quarters,” Spirit coach Bernie Harrower said.
"Because we defended so well, it helped to generate some offence for us and give us some confidence as well, so from that point of view, that's where we were a lot better today."
The Spirit opened up a 10-point advantage with four minutes remaining in the second quarter, and their lead remained in double digits for the rest of the match.
Sunday’s win came on the back of the Spirit having suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in three years in their previous two games against Canberra and Dandenong.
“Our backs are to the wall now, and it's the first time in three years that has happened,” Harrower said.
"The past two years we finished off the season extremely well and coasted into top spot, but this year we're not coasting... we're fighting tooth and nail to try to hang onto second spot."
Spirit star Kelsey Griffin was the dominant player of the game, pouring in 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field to go with 11 rebounds.
Belinda Snell added 17 points and five assists, while Gabe Richards scored 12 and had 11 rebounds.
Ten of the 11 Spirit players who suited up played at least 11 minutes.
The loss was the Waves’ 11th in a row.
The Spirit are now 12-6 ahead of another interstate trip to take on the Sydney Uni Flames on Saturday night, followed by hosting arch-rival Townsville at the Bendigo Stadium on Sunday night.