Knox W vs Bankstown Bruins W

The game swung emphatically in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Bankstown led by one after three periods, but Knox opened the final frame on an 8-0 run inside the first three minutes. The Bruins never recovered, scoring just nine points in the quarter while shooting 3-of-14 from the field and committing three turnovers. Craig Simpson's side clamped down on Shyla Heal, who had carried Bankstown's offence all game, and the Raiders' rebounding dominance (18 offensive boards) eliminated any Bruins comeback path.

Alicia Froling (Knox) — 24 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 11/13 FG (84.6%). The Finals MVP was unstoppable in the paint and her interior presence changed the game on both ends. Her 11 made field goals came on just 13 attempts, a testament to her efficiency in the key.

Paige Bradley (Knox) — 20 pts, 4 reb, 8 ast, 8/18 FG. The captain controlled the tempo and found open shooters as Knox's offence flowed through her in the second half.

Shyla Heal (Bankstown) — 30 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 8/25 FG, 11/11 FT. Heal shouldered the offensive load across the full 40 minutes. Her 11-of-11 from the stripe was immaculate, but the 25-shot volume reflected the pressure Knox's defence applied.

Leah Santomaggio (Knox) — 15 pts, 6 reb, 3/6 3PT. Her floor spacing was a decisive factor, stretching Bankstown's defence and creating driving lanes for Bradley and Froling.

Player of the match: Alicia Froling (Finals MVP)

Knox shot 47.1% from the field (33/70) against Bankstown's 31.8% (21/66), a gap of more than 15 percentage points that told the story of the game more accurately than the 13-point final margin. The Raiders' two-point shooting was especially decisive: 51.1% inside the arc versus Bankstown's 31.6%.

Knox also dominated the offensive glass 18-6, generating second-chance opportunities that proved critical in a tight contest. Despite Bankstown taking 28 three-point attempts to Knox's 23, the Bruins hit only 32.1% from deep. Knox connected on 39.1%.

Bankstown's free-throw shooting (22/26, 84.6%) was superior to Knox's (11/16, 68.8%), but the Bruins could not offset the field-goal disparity or the rebounding deficit.

Knox Raiders become the first club in NBL1 history to win back-to-back national women's titles, having beaten the Cockburn Cougars in Canberra in 2025. The victory caps a dominant run in which Knox also won back-to-back NBL1 South championships, finishing the season on a 16-game winning streak that stretched back to May 2026.

The Raiders' core — Froling, Bradley, Santomaggio, Emma-Nnopu and Burrows — is expected to remain largely intact for the 2027 campaign, raising the prospect of a three-peat bid.

For Bankstown, the East Conference champions finish as national runners-up after a breakthrough season that saw them win their conference grand final against Manly Warringah on 16 August. The Bruins' young core, led by Heal and Tupaea, provides a strong foundation for 2027.

Knox's fourth-quarter blitz was not luck — it was the culmination of superior depth, interior presence and shooting efficiency that had been building all game. Froling's immaculate shooting and Bradley's playmaking gave the Raiders a power advantage Bankstown simply could not match when the game tightened. Back-to-back national titles, and this group looks far from finished.