THE Bendigo Spirit have given club stalwart Gabe Richards a winning finale to her WNBL career in Townsville.

The Spirit ended a tough season on a positive, defeating Townsville 89-69 on Saturday night to win its first road game of the season and avoid the wooden spoon.

Having last week celebrated her 250^th game for the club in which she was a foundation player in 2007-08, Richards took to the court for the final time for the Spirit, closing her career out with 11 points and six rebounds in the 20-point win.

"It was fantastic for Gabe to finish the way she did last night," Spirit coach Tracy York said on Sunday.

"She scored a big three-pointer at the end, which she isn't know for... she has taken two this season and made them both.

"She has been a great guidance for the girls on and off the court and finished with a good game.

"Townsville was fantastic in sending her off the right way and giving her the game ball as an acknowledgement."

With the loser of the match to end the season on the bottom of the ladder, the Spirit, who were missing star point guard Kelly Wilson (knee), led at every break and for the first time since November of 2016 won all four quarters.

Forward Carley Ernst produced one of the Spirit's most dominant individual performances of the season with 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block.

Ernst shot six-of-11 from three-point range, while Tessa Lavey scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half.

The Spirit also had young gun Shyla Heal contribute 14 points, with the 18 year-old ending the season as the Spirit's leading scorer with 254 points (12.1 ppg).

"The girls executed really well last night; they played good defence and the offence flowed, so it was a really good performance," York said.

The Spirit, who missed the finals for the fifth year in a row, end their 13th season in the WNBL with a 5-16 record.

With the regular season now over, it leaves Southside, defending champions Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide as the four teams remaining in the title race.

Final ladder

1. Southside - 17-4

2. Canberra - 15-6

3. Melbourne - 15-6

4. Adelaide - 12-9

5. Perth - 8-13

6. Sydney - 7-14

7. Bendigo - 5-16

8. Townsville - 5-16

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