When the Bendigo Spirit ruled the WNBL: 2013 championship triumph, part one

Just six years after formation, the Spirit won the 2013 WNBL championship when it defeated Townsville 71-57 in front of a packed Bendigo Stadium.

Ten years on from the club's first of two WNBL titles, the Spirit will honour its championship team at next Wednesday night's final home game of the season against Townsville.

In a two-part series, we look back at how the Bendigo Spirit won the 2013 championship.

First-up, coach Bernie Harrower and champion point guard Kristi Harrower relive the special season.

.................................

Bernie Harrower's campaign to have Bendigo participate in the WNBL had started the best part of a decade before the 2013 championship success.

While many in Bendigo basketball circles thought it was a pipedream, the Bendigo Spirit made their debut in the WNBL in the 2007-08 season.

Despite not having the financial clout of the power clubs, the Spirit finished seventh in year one and made the play-offs in seasons two and three.

In 2010-11, the Spirit were just five points away from playing in the grand final and there was a sense that something serious was building.

However, 12 months later the Spirit missed the play-offs. Missing the play-offs was nothing compared to the off-court troubles.

"Our first two years we struggled to put a team on the floor, but we were still competitive,'' Bernie said.

"In our second year we managed to make the finals despite only having a budget of $56,000 compared to other clubs who were spending more than $150,000.

"In 2011 I was bitterly disappointed when we lost to Canberra by five points in the preliminary final.

"The following year we added a couple of players and, on paper, I felt we were a better team. The problem was we just couldn't get that consistency.

"I think that year Dandenong and Bulleen played in the grand final and we beat them twice each throughout the season. We knew we had the goods to compete with the best, but for whatever reason something was lacking in that team and we had trouble beating the weaker teams.

"After that season the club was in trouble off the court and, to be honest, there was a possibility that the club was going to fold.

"Thankfully, some businessmen came in and put their hands in their pockets and, basically, saved the club.

"They were able to give us a better budget than what we'd been dealing with and, even though we still had a lower budget than other teams, we were able to put together a good team.

"What the group did in the 2012-13 season was just sensational. To build a brand new team in a regional city and win a championship within six years was pretty amazing stuff."

READ MORE: Catch up on the latest local sport news

Kristi Harrower - the multiple Olympic medalist, world championship gold medalist, WNBA and EuroLeague star - was the maestro of a tightly-knit core group that had played together for several years.

Gabe Richards, Kelly Wilson and Chelsea Aubry were class acts on and off the court. They were key players in the Spirit mix and fan favourites.

Renae Camino, Maddie Garrick, Jane Chalmers, Chantella Perera, Haley Munro and Andrea Wilson were the Spirit's spark plugs off the bench.

The final piece to the puzzle was first-year import Kelsey Griffin, who only joined the team after original import Kathleen Scheer suffered a knee injury.

"We played the first six games of the season without Kelsey and I think Renae Camino was injured as well,'' Bernie said.

"We won the first six games and the chemistry within the group was sensational.

"Kelsey played her first game against Canberra and we lost on our home court. That was just a one-off and for the rest of the year we only lost two more games for the season.

"Kelsey coming in added that extra player that we needed.

"We had our role players in Kelly, Gabe and Chelsea and our superstar in Kristi and then Kelsey made that starting five something very special.

"We felt we could beat anyone and we didn't fear anyone. It made a massive difference."

The Spirit won 21 of their 24 regular season games in the 2012-13 season and sat on top of the ladder every round.

They overcame a 12-point deficit in the semi-final to defeat Dandenong and advance to a home grand final against Townsville.

The grand final itself wasn't a high-class contest, but that mattered little to the Spirit.

Their defence smothered the Fire and the home side cruised to a 71-57 victory.

"The secret to our success was our defence,'' Bernie said.

"Over the years I developed my own defensive philosophies. It wasn't textbook and it wasn't what everyone else did, but it worked.

"I think that season on average we conceded 62 points per game. If you keep teams to a losing score, if you're having an off night offensively you're still in the game.

"Townsville were a very good basketball team and to keep them to 57 points in that grand final was testament to the way the girls implemented the defensive philosophies."

Kristi said the Spirit's culture and ability to connect with the Bendigo community were defining factors in the team's success on and off the court.

"It was credit to Dad. He always recruited great people,'' Kristi said.

"You always knew where you stood with him. He didn't take any crap from anybody, not even me.

READ MORE: Fitting honour for Bendigo netball legend

"If there was any bitching going on in the team he'd say "there's the door".

"He never put up with laziness and with people who didn't want to work hard. If he ripped us it was about our work ethic and we'd respond to that.

"No matter what level it is, chemistry plays a massive part in teams doing well. It was a credit to every player in our group.

"Just to name one, Jane Chalmers, she travelled from Echuca three nights a week for training and didn't get much court time, but she accepted her role.

"At training she'd get under your skin. She'd work you hard... there were times when I'd try to flatten her because she was giving me the shits.

"She made me better and I made her better. She would have started on other teams in the WNBL. It was the same for some of our other bench players as well.

"Those bench players had a drive to get better and because of that they challenged the starting five at training. As a result, our team was better.

"Bendigo people like a Bendigo connection and the community had that connection with that team,'' Kristi added.

"Dad and I were Bendigo born and bred, Gabe and Kelly had been in Bendigo for a long time, Chelsea had been in Bendigo six years all up.

"We built that team into a powerhouse of the WNBL and the community responded to that."

The community response during the play-offs was something that Bernie will never forget.

"The lead-up to the grand final that week was sensational,'' he said.

"Everyone was talking about the Spirit. I had my paint shop at that time and people were coming to wish the Spirit the best. Shops around town had posters up and streamers flying.

"The atmosphere in the stadium and the noise is something I'll never forget.

"I've been in Olympic stadiums for gold medal games with 15,000 people and I've never heard a noise like what the Spirit fans delivered that day.

"The stadium was still full an hour after the game. It was something very special for Bendigo."

Tears flowed between father and daughter at the completion of the grand final.

A challenging journey had reached its peak.

As Australia's premier point guard and one of the best point guards in the world, Kristi could have quite easily stayed in Europe and earned significantly more money than what she was paid in Bendigo.

The drive to win in Bendigo with family meant more.

"There's been times where I've looked back and wished I had gone back to Europe and earned more money,'' Kristi said.

"But if I had kept going back to Europe there's every chance I wouldn't have lasted in the game as long as I did because my body might have broken down.

"I did stick by the Spirit and loyalty means a lot to me, which made things difficult with the way things ended with the Spirit.

"When you win a championship with the team Dad and a few others built, with a playing group that was so good together on and off the court, it's so special and it means a lot to me."

73 def Adelaide 71

76 def West Coast 69

70 def Bulleen 69

70 def Dandenong 58

74 def West Coast 51

82 def Dandenong 80

54 lt Canberra 59

91 def Sydney Uni 76

80 def Canberra 71

68 def Adelaide 62

73 def Bulleen 61

79 def Dandenong 72

52 lt Townsville 56

69 def Logan 61

98 def Logan 68

84 def Bulleen 67

77 def Sydney 69

80 def Logan 71

80 def Townsville 72

89 def Sydney 71

65 def West Coast 41

66 lt Adelaide 86

83 def Canberra 46

66 def Townsville 57

Semi-final: 78 def Dandenong 71

Grand final: 71 def Townsville 57

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: