Needing a win to stay in the finals hunt, the Firebirds were made to rue a poor start as the Fever secured a 69-51 victory in front of a sell-out crowd for the First Nations Round clash.
The Firebirds gave themselves a mountain of work to do after scoring just 18 points in the first half, allowing the Fever to hold a whopping 20-goal lead at the main break.
That margin had blown out to 28 goals by the end of the third quarter before a final term rally gave something for the fans to cheer.
With Mary Cholhok landing four Suncorp Super Shots in the fourth term alone, the Firebirds won the quarter 23-13 to snatch some much-needed momentum heading into next weekend's away trip to face the NSW Swifts in Sydney.
The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for one lucky fan who landed a Super Shot of their own during the third-quarter break to become the first person in three seasons to land the Aurizon 5K play and win $5000 thanks to Firebirds principal partner Aurizon.
Cholhok, who played 33 minutes, finished the match with 24 points while Te Paea Selby-Rickit gave another impressive four-quarter effort in the GA bib including two two-pointers of her own.
Fellow Kiwi Maddy Gordon was non-stop in the midcourt for the Firebirds, completing a whopping 44 feeds including 26 goal assists.
Playing against Firebirds Alumni Romelda Aiken-George in her 256th Australian National League match, Firebirds defender Kelly Jackson was also solid and ended the game with four gains and six deflections at the back.
While the loss ends any hope of a finals berth for the Firebirds in 2026, Head Coach Kiri Wills said the goal for the team's remaining three fixtures is clear.
"It's about finishing this year really strong," Wills said.
"We haven't lived up to our potential this season and we've got three more games to show who we are."
