Manly W. W vs Bankstown Bruins W

Bankstown threw the first punch with a blistering 33-point opening quarter, shooting 11/20 from the field to build a 33–21 lead by the first break. Manly stayed in touch only through 12/13 free-throw shooting in the quarter.

The Bruins stretched the lead to 19 points in the second period before Manly responded with a 7–0 run. The Sea Eagles pulled down nine offensive rebounds in the quarter alone but shot just 3/16 from three-point range in the first half, a trend that would prove costly. Bankstown led 55–43 at halftime with Heal already on 19 points and co-captain Kiahna Davis-White adding 14 on a perfect 6/6 shooting.

Manly went scoreless for more than five minutes to open the third quarter, and the Bruins pushed the margin back to 19. Bree Delaney — Manly's preliminary final hero a week earlier — sparked an 8–0 run with back-to-back triples, and the Sea Eagles cut the deficit to 66–57 heading into the final period.

Manly cut the lead to three points when Jayda Jansen knocked down a three with just over three minutes remaining, and the Manly crowd at the neutral Central Coast venue roared. But Heal answered immediately for Bankstown, and 18-year-old Shalome Dunlop followed with what proved to be the dagger — a three-pointer that restored an eight-point buffer with 2:14 to play. Zoey Miller twice hit from deep in the final minute to make it a three-point game, but Tahlia Tupaea iced the championship at the free-throw line.

Shyla Heal (Bankstown) — Grand Final MVP: 26 points, four rebounds, four assists, 11/20 FG. Heal added a WNBL championship (Townsville Fire, 2023) to an NBL1 ring, controlling the game's tempo from tip to buzzer.

Tahlia Tupaea (Bankstown): 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, a perfect 19/19 from the charity stripe. Her composure at the line in the clutch moments sealed the title.

Zoey Miller (Manly): 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds, two steals. The Sea Eagles guard kept her team alive with two late threes in the final 60 seconds.

Kim Dickinson (Manly): 13 points and 11 rebounds — a double-double in a losing cause.

Kiahna Davis-White (Bankstown): 14 points on 6/6 shooting in the first half, setting a championship standard on the game's biggest stage.

Manly shot 18/20 from the free-throw line in the first half (90%) but that masked a deeper problem: 11/33 field-goal shooting and 3/16 from deep. Bankstown's 19/35 (54%) from the field and 7/15 (47%) from three in the first half created the 12-point halftime lead that ultimately proved decisive. Manly's offensive-rebounding dominance (nine in the second quarter alone) kept them in the game, but they could not convert second-chance opportunities into enough made outside shots. The Bruins shot 19/19 at the line for the entire game, a near-flawless display under Grand Final pressure.

Bankstown's drought-breaking title — their first since 2015 — also extended a remarkable 20-year stretch without a back-to-back women's champion in the competition. The last repeat winner was Bankstown themselves, who won four straight from 2003–2006. Manly, who entered as defending champions after a 2025 title and finished the regular season second at 18–2, will rue a slow start and cold outside shooting in their bid to go back-to-back for the first time since 1991–92.

The better team on the day won. Bankstown's star backcourt of Heal and Tupaea was the difference — capable of breaking down a disciplined Manly defence at will and stepping up in every critical moment. Manly's grit and late fight showed why they were champions in 2025, but a 12-point first-quarter deficit against a team this talented was a hole too deep to climb out of at a neutral venue.