# 2019–20 Bendigo Spirit season

The 2019–20 Bendigo Spirit season is the 13th season for the franchise in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).
This is the Spirit's first season under new head coach, Tracy York, who overtook the role from Simon Pritchard after he spent four seasons in the position.

## Standings

| # | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GP |
| 1 | Southside Flyers | 17 | 4 | 80.9 | 21 |
| 2 | Canberra Capitals | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | 21 |
| 3 | Melbourne Boomers | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | 21 |
| 4 | Adelaide Lightning | 12 | 9 | 57.1 | 21 |
| 5 | Perth Lynx | 8 | 13 | 38.0 | 21 |
| 6 | Sydney Uni Flames | 7 | 14 | 33.3 | 21 |
| 7 | Bendigo Spirit | 5 | 16 | 23.8 | 21 |
| 8 | Townsville Fire | 5 | 16 | 23.8 | 21 |

## Results
### Pre-season

| Game | Date | Team | Score | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Location | Record |
| 1 | September 11 | China | 88–66 | Ernst (29) | Grays (12) | Ernst (5) | Bendigo Stadium | 1–0 |
| 2 | September 15 | Melbourne | 64–62 | Ernst (29) | Tobin (10) | Wilson (6) | Traralgon Sports Stadium | 2–0 |
| 3 | September 21 | BA Centre of Excellence | 94–54 | – | – | – | Echuca Basketball Association | 3–0 |
| 4 | September 25 | NBL1 All-Stars | 120–63 | – | – | – | Sunbury Basketball Stadium | 4–0 |
| 5 | October 3 | @ Southside | 73–56 | Tobin (15) | Richards (8) | Lavey, Wilson (6) | Dandenong Stadium | 5–0 |

### Regular season

| Game | Date | Team | Score | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Location | Record |
| 1 | October 12 | Melbourne | 72–87 | Grays, Heal, Skinner (14) | Grays (9) | Wilson (8) | Bendigo Stadium | 0–1 |
| 2 | October 19 | @ Melbourne | 70–74 | Wilson (19) | Ernst (9) | Wilson (7) | State Basketball Centre | 0–2 |
| 3 | October 20 | Perth | 91–79 | Ernst (29) | Ernst (16) | Wilson (9) | Bendigo Stadium | 1–2 |
| 4 | October 26 | @ Southside | 77–85 | Grays (22) | Grays (9) | Lavey (7) | Traralgon Sports Stadium | 1–3 |
| 5 | November 1 | Adelaide | 67–54 | Wehrung (16) | Tobin (12) | Wilson (7) | Bendigo Stadium | 2–3 |
| 6 | November 3 | @ Southside | 80–93 | Tobin (16) | Ernst, Tobin (6) | Lavey, Wilson (7) | Dandenong Stadium | 2–4 |
| 7 | November 9 | @ Adelaide | 77–105 | Ernst (17) | Ernst, Tobin (6) | Heal, Lavey (3) | Titanium Security Arena | 2–5 |
| 8 | November 24 | Melbourne | 59–75 | Wehrung (13) | Tobin (15) | Wilson (9) | Bendigo Stadium | 2–6 |
| 9 | November 29 | Sydney | 75–80 | Lavey (16) | Tobin (16) | Lavey (11) | Bendigo Stadium | 2–7 |
| 10 | December 6 | Canberra | 66–91 | Lavey (17) | Tobin (7) | Wilson (7) | Bendigo Stadium | 2–8 |
| 11 | December 8 | @ Townsville | 80–94 | Skinner (26) | Wilson (10) | Wilson (7) | Townsville Stadium | 2–9 |
| 12 | December 15 | @ Adelaide | 75–91 | Ernst (21) | Ernst (9) | Wilson (6) | Titanium Security Arena | 2–10 |
| 13 | December 19 | Sydney | 81–88 | Ernst (20) | Ernst (7) | Ernst (5) | Bendigo Stadium | 2–11 |
| 14 | December 21 | @ Canberra | 66–76 | Skinner (15) | Ernst (11) | Lavey (3) | National Convention Centre | 2–12 |
| 15 | December 28 | Townsville | 79–78 | Ernst (24) | Ernst, Wehrung, Wilson (6) | Wilson (5) | Bendigo Stadium | 3–12 |
| 16 | January 3 | Canberra | 94–90 | Heal (24) | Heal, Richards (8) | Wilson (9) | Bendigo Stadium | 4–12 |
| 17 | January 12 | @ Perth | 81–100 | Heal (30) | Ernst (10) | Wilson (11) | Bendat Basketball Centre | 4–13 |
| 18 | January 18 | Southside | 76–91 | Lavey (20) | Heal (8) | Wilson (5) | Bendigo Stadium | 4–14 |
| 19 | January 24 | Perth | 66–89 | Heal (17) | Heal (8) | Lavey (5) | Bendigo Stadium | 4–15 |
| 20 | January 30 | @ Sydney | 68–78 | Heal (17) | Richards (6) | Lavey (6) | Brydens Stadium | 4–16 |
| 21 | February 1 | @ Townsville | 89–69 | Ernst (26) | Ernst (10) | Ernst, Lavey (7) | Townsville Stadium | 5–16 |

## Awards
### In-season

| Award | Recipient | Round(s) |
| Team of the Week | Carley Ernst | Round 2 |
| Team of the Week | Abigail Wehrung | Round 11 |
| Team of the Week | Shyla Heal | Round 12 |
| Team of the Week | Tessa Lavey | Round 16 |

### Club Awards

| Award | Recipient | Date |
| Most Valuable Player | Carley Ernst | 3 February 2020 |
| Most Consistent Player | Shyla Heal | 3 February 2020 |
| Team Spirit Award | Tessa Lavey | 3 February 2020 |