Alicia Froling has posted a double-double on her 30th birthday as Townsville took another massive step towards locking up top spot with a 78-62 WNBL win over the UC Capitals.
Froling (15 points, 11 rebounds) starred in Saturday night's match in Townsville but had plenty of help from Abbey Ellis (15 points), Miela Sowah (17 points) and Lucy Olsen (12 points).
"I think tomorrow we'll have some cake. I have to go to bed early tonight," Froling said after the match.
"I'm happy whenever we win."
The Fire achieved the victory without star shooter Courtney Woods, who injured her left ankle on the eve of the match.
"I just kind of rolled my ankle and couldn't get it in a position to play today. Hopefully I'm back next week," Woods said.
The Capitals struggled to keep up with their highly-fancied opponents, with Jade Melbourne (13 points) their only player to hit double figures.
Zitina Aokuso (eight points, 13 rebounds, six assists) also battled hard in a losing cause, but conceded six turnovers.
The Fire's sixth straight win improved their record to 18-4, and they will be guaranteed to finish on top of the ladder if they beat Bendigo in Townsville next Sunday in their final regular season game.
Perth Lynx (16-5) and Bendigo (16-5) are the only other teams still in the running to finish first, and their clash on Sunday will determine which of the two remain in the race.
Townsville will finish second at worst, giving them an excellent platform to launch a run at the title.
The Capitals (8-13) sit in fifth and must beat fourth-placed Southside Melbourne Flyers (9-12) on Tuesday night to have any hope of reaching the finals.
Canberra trailed by just one point midway through the second quarter before Townsville finished the term with a 11-2 run to take a 43-33 lead into halftime.
That advantage was set up by Townsville's rebound application, with the home side dominating that stat 29-14, including a whopping 16-2 advantage offensively.
The halftime margin would have been still larger if not for Townsville's horrible shooting from long-range, with the Fire not hitting any of their 10 attempts in the first half.
Olsen finally broke Townsville's shooting rut when she nailed her shot from the perimeter early in the third quarter, and the margin stretched beyond 20 points in the final quarter as the Fire cruised to victory.
