“Going into the start of the year, we had the youngest team, but we also had all this expectation that we were going to win the championship,” Seebohm said.
“We’re one of the few teams that don’t have an Olympian or an Opal that’s played at a World Cup or done any of those things. We’ve got a lot of unheralded superstars.
“Our whole goal is always to play our best basketball, and I truly believe we did that.
“That was one of the toughest games I’ve ever seen in the WNBL. Surely, that has to go down as one of the greatest finals games ever.”
For Perth, their hopes of claiming a first title in 34 years are over after also going down 88-79 in game one of the best-of-three series on Thursday.
The loss also marks the Lynx’s third grand final defeat in five years after falling short in 2022 and 2024.
Han was typically inspirational with 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, while Lynx teammate Anneli Maley recorded another double-double with 27 points and 19 boards.
Alex Ciabattoni (23 points) and Ally Wilson (13 points, nine assists, nine rebounds) were also busy.
“You can roll over, curl into a ball, suck your thumb and just cry, or you can dig your heels in and try again,” coach Ryan Petrik said.
“It felt like a game that could have gone either way, and we had a chance to grab it.
“Unfortunately, our chances didn’t fall, and that’s the price.”
The Lynx went on an 11-2 early run, but struggled to find the net in the second term and Townsville pounced to surge to a 50-45 lead at the main break.
Perth set up a thrilling finish after producing a 15-3 spurt in the third quarter, but it was Sowah’s last-gasp shots that won Townsville the championship.
