THE Bendigo Spirit have slumped to the bottom of the WNBL ladder following a sixth-consecutive defeat on Sunday.
The Spirit leaked 94 points against Townsville, which had gone into the game with just one win on the board and sitting last.
But the home side Fire was able to lift itself off the bottom and move above Bendigo with the 94-80 result.
Sunday's loss follows the Spirit's 91-66 defeat to title contender Canberra in Ballarat on Friday night.
And just like Friday night the Spirit again found themselves down by a double-figure margin at half-time as the Fire led 53-40 at the main break.
The Spirit could get no closer than 10 in the second half and had trailed by as many as 25 before closing the game on a 13-2 run.
For the Spirit, who are now 9-2, Demi Skinner nailed six three-pointers among her team-high 26 points in what was her best offensive performance of the season.
Tessa Lavey also battled hard with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Kelly Wilson hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Spirit head interstate again next Sunday to play Adelaide, who they are 1-1 with so far this season.
* Results - Canberra 91 def Bendigo 66; Adelaide 79 def Perth 69; Southside 89 def Melbourne 82; Sydney 81 def Adelaide 69; Townsville 94 def Bendigo 80; Melbourne 72 def Perth 63.
