As the only two non-capital city teams in the WNBL, Bendigo and Townsville have shared a storied rivalry.

Both of the Spirit's 2012-13 and 2013-14 championship wins were against Townsville, while it was the Fire who doused the Spirit's hopes of a three-peat in the 20-14-15 grand final.

While there will be no championship on the line this Friday night, there will be high stakes involved.

After two consecutive losses, the Spirit's place in the top four remains in jeopardy, with Townsville the likely challenger.

A constant through those epic battles has been the stellar play of Spirit stalwart Richards.

The two-time WNBL All-Star finds irony in the fact her milestone will come against the team that has been the Spirit's opponent in many of their biggest matches and one that features one of her best friends, Fire point guard Kelly Wilson.

"We have some incredible battles over the years (against Townsville) and some really memorable ones," Richards said.

"It's exciting that it comes up against them."

Originally from Seymour, Richards has been on the Spirit roster for nine of the club's 10 seasons.

She initially spent two years with the Australian Institute of Sport before joining the Spirit in their debut season in 2007-08.

Her milestone might have come sooner had she not missed the 2009-2010 season with a knee injury.

Despite the setback, Richards, who has averaged about 12 points per game and eight rebounds during her WNBL career, believed she had been fortunate to have remained largely healthy.

"It's been a long ride and it has taken me all over the world," she said.

"When you are young and your parents are ferrying you all over the country, it's fun and exciting.

"To think that I am still doing it at 32 is incredible.

"I've been really fortunate my body has held up. I've had little injuries along the way but I'm pretty fortunate to be playing basketball at this age."

Statistics show Richards, who won a world championship bronze medal with the Opals in 2014, has continued to get better with age. 

Her 372 points (15.5ppg) in 2015-16 was the second highest tally of her career, while her 9.1 rebounds per game was also her second best.

Playing in a WNBL competition that has grown more even by the year, Richards is taking nothing for granted when it comes to the Spirit's hopes of returning to the finals.

But she was adamant the side had the potential to be a championship contender should they reach finals.

"I think we've got the talent certainly, we just need to put it al together on the same night," she said.

"We've certainly got the personnel that can get it done if we can gel and get our systems right.

"Anything is possible."