New Sydney Flames coach Renae Garlepp has begun her tenure with a brutal reality check as the ladder-leading Townsville Fire dealt them a 93-60 defeat.
The scoreline wasn't the only tough news for the Flames on Saturday night as young gun Issy Morgan and guard Shaneice Swain left the court with suspected injuries.
Morgan - who had scored eight points - was simply walking into position before she tumbled, grasping her right leg during the second quarter.
That followed Swain, who was substituted off five minutes in and was icing her knee for the rest of the match.
The injuries add another headache for Sydney and Garlepp, who took over after former coach Guy Molloy stepped down last weekend.
Although Garlepp didn't know how bad Morgan's and Swain's injuries were, she admitted point guard Mikhaela Cann was suffering from an ankle niggle as well.
The Flames also went into the match without top scorer Lauren Nicholson (family reasons) and French import Olivia Epoupa (concussion).
The former Opals and Flames assistant coach sparked the side to move the ball and put pressure on Townsville's dominant attack, however, her team were outclassed at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.
Conceding 23 turnovers and making just 32 per cent of their field goal attempts cruelled the seventh-placed Flames' chances of keeping up with Townsville as they slipped to 3-8 for the season.
Guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu was Sydney's busiest, registering 11 rebounds and six points, while youngster Carla Pittman had 10 points and four steals.
"We kept fighting all game, and to looe the second half by four. I'm incredibly proud of everyone," Garlepp said.
"It's definitely been a big week. We approached it one day at a time, focusing on the players, what they need, and building from there."
Human highlights reel, Miela Sowah, was again instrumental, complementing an equal season-high 26 points with three assists as the Fire notched a seventh straight win.
Lauren Cox (eight points, 10 rebounds) and Abbey Ellis (12 points) also helped improve the side's season record to 9-1.
"If we're going to be a good team in this league, and we're going to have the ability to play offence the way that we want to, we need to get stops," coach Shannon Seebohm said.
"From where we started in the preseason to where we are now, we've come a long way with that.
"We generated some really good shots, and that allowed us to get going into halftime."
Townsville started with a spring in their step as they turned defensive pressure into buckets to create a 16-point quarter-time deficit.
The second quarter was much grittier before Sowah caught fire to balloon the Fire's advantage to 54-28 at the main break.
Townsville's defence overwhelmed the undermanned Flames as Sydney suffered a second consecutive loss.
