After nearly two years since there's been a home game at the Bendigo Stadium, the Spirit gave their fans exactly what they had been waiting for.
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Spirit secured their first win of the season on Wednesday night in a five-point triumph over the Melbourne Boomers, final scores 63-58.
Spirit started the match on the front foot after scoring 19 points in the first quarter to the Boomers' 11.
The Spirit's eight-point lead was reduced to just one in the later stages of the second quarter, but after a quick goal-scoring flurry from the home team the margin was four going into the main break.
Boomers quickly replied with the first two goals of the third quarter to bring the scores back level.
Spirit held on strong to take a six-point lead into the final quarter.
With three minutes left in the fourth quarter the Boomers were back within striking distance but a clutch three-point made by Leilani Mitchell gave the spirit a nine-point buffer.
However, the Boomers remained strong and put several points on the board to be only one goal behind the Spirit with 33.5 seconds left on the clock.
Buoyed by the sound of cheering Spirit fans, Bendigo dug deep and locked down their home court to take their first victory in nearly 700 days.
Spirit's Megan McKay said the victory over the Boomers was an epic moment for the team.
"Honestly it's great and so good to have such a strong turnout from our fans," she said.
McKay said the win didn't come easy as the Spirit had to navigate the Boomers' non-stop pressure.
"They really have a strong presence in the paint with Cayla George and Eziyoda Magbegor - defending them was our number one priority."
"We were able to apply enough pressure to ensure it was as hard as possible for their shooters."
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Spirit's match MVP went to Anneli Maley who scored 18 points and took 13 rebounds to notch a double-double.
"How nice was it playing in front of our fans?," Maley said.
"The Boomers came at us but we weathered the storm to get our first win at home."
Lavey was the next highest scorer on 12 points and five rebounds, followed by Maddie Garrick on 11 points.
Boomers' Cayla George said the Spirit's rebounding and persistence helped them secure the narrow five-point win.
"They rebounded the ball better than us and wanted it more towards the end," she said.
"We needed to be a bit sharper with our execution down the stretch...but it's a real credit to them as they played well and it was a good win in their first home game of the season."
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