Bendigo win WNBL title March 10, 2013 - 5:50PM Bendigo produced a masterful defensive effort to win their first WNBL title with a 71-57 victory over fellow maiden grand finalists Townsville at Bendigo Stadium on Sunday. Minor premiers Bendigo restricted Townsville to a 35 per cent shooting success rate from the field. The Spirit trailed 4-2 early but then produced 13 straight points to take control of the game and never again relinquished the lead. Townsville got the deficit down to one in the third quarter, but Bendigo reasserted themselves to lead 52-41 at the final change. Bendigo took almost five minutes of the final term to score, but Townsville were equally cold in offence during that time, scoring just two points and never getting the gap below nine. The Spirit, who out-rebounded Townsville 38-27, cruised through the final five minutes, blowing their advantage out to as much as 16. Import forward Kelsey Griffin, a mid-season addition to the Spirit roster, starred with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Centre Gabrielle Richards capped off a wonderful season with 20 points and eight boards. Veteran guard Kristi Harrower, who has yet to decide whether she will retire, added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists and Canadian Chelsea Aubry also tallied 11 points. For Townsville, import centre Jessica Adair tallied 11 points and ten rebounds. Jess Foley, who was playing her final game for Townsville before starting medical studies also scored 11, but Townsville had no other double-digit scorers.