2023 WNBL Finals

The 2023 WNBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the WNBL's 2022–23 season.^[1] The Melbourne Boomers were the defending champions, but were defeated in the Semi-Finals by Southside.^[2] The Townsville Fire won their fourth championship title after sweeping Southside, 2–0 in the Grand Final series.^[3]

The WNBL Finals schedule was confirmed 3 March 2023.^[4] In addition to domestic broadcast via ESPN and 9Now, the 2023 WNBL Finals will be broadcast internationally through new partnerships with ESPN, beIN Sports & Unbeaten.^[5]

Overview

Finals appearances

• The Townsville Fire qualified for Finals for the first time since 2020.
• The Southside Flyers qualified for Finals for the first time since 2020.
• The Melbourne Boomers qualified for Finals for the sixth consecutive season, which is the longest active run of WNBL Finals appearances.
• The Perth Lynx qualified for Finals for the second consecutive season.
• The Bendigo Spirit missed Finals for the eighth consecutive season, currently the longest break between Finals appearances in the WNBL.
• The Sydney Flames missed Finals for the fifth consecutive season.
• The Adelaide Lightning missed Finals for the first time since 2020.
• The Canberra Capitals missed Finals for the first time since 2017–18.

Standings

Bracket

Semi-Finals

(1) Townsville Fire vs. (4) Perth Lynx

(2) Southside Flyers vs. (3) Melbourne Boomers

Grand Final

(1) Townsville Fire vs. (2) Southside Flyers

Rosters

2022–23 Townsville Fire roster Players Coaches Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. G 1 Nicholson, Lauren 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) G 3 Reid, Stephanie 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) G 4 Leger-Walker, Krystal 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) G/F 7 Woods, Courtney 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) G 9 Heal, Shyla 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) G 12 Gaze, Kate 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) F/C 14 McSpadden, Lara 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) C 15 Aokuso, Zitina 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) F 21 Hawkins, Tianna 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) F 33 Ruef, Mikaela 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) G/F 35 Parker-Williams, Nes'eya 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) G 44 Samuelson, Karlie 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Head coach Shannon Seebohm Assistant coach(es) Marcus Wong Hayden Zasadny Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 22 March 2023

2022–23 Southside Flyers roster Players Coaches Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. G 1 Cole, Rebecca 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) F 5 Pineau, Georgia 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) F 6 Thornton, Kayla 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) G 9 Rocci, Maddison 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) F/C 10 Bishop, Abby 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) F 11 Ernst, Carley 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) F/C 12 Griffiths, Holly 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) F 13 Puoch, Nyadiew 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) G 14 Conti, Monique 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) F 15 Blicavs, Sara 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Head coach Cheryl Chambers Assistant coach(es) Kerryn Mitchell Hannah Lowe Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Development player (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: 22 March 2023

References