After dealing Townsville their only loss of the season in round three, the Flyers looked on par to repeat their heroics.
They surged within six points of the Fire early in the fourth quarter after trailing by 13 points in the third.
But the wheels fell off in an anticlimactic conclusion, as Townsville (8-1) caught a second wind to claim their sixth consecutive victory and sit two wins clear on top of the ladder.
Veteran Cayla George moved up to third place (378 matches) on the WNBL's list for most games played, and manufactured a double-double, complementing 14 points with 13 rebounds for the Flyers.
"Southside came into the game knowing that they could beat us. They did that three weeks ago, and they had a lot of confidence," Woods said.
"That showed a lot with physicality ... and obviously it was a bit ugly there, but we're pretty happy when we win by more than 20 points."
The Flyers (3-4) were rigid in defence, keeping Townsville to their lowest-scoring 10 minutes of the season (16 points) in the second quarter.
But their courageous performance was undone by turnovers (26) and fouls (25), as they conceded more than 10 turnovers for a seventh consecutive time.
Isabelle Bourne strengthened her case to become league MVP, firing 28 points, while Maddi Rocci notched nine points and seven assists.
"When you get absolutely manhandled, 26 fouls to 13 their way, you're not going to win many games," Flyers coach Kristi Harrower said.
"We'd get it back to two, and then all of a sudden it's back out to 10. You can't relax on this team."
The game started at a rapid pace, with Woods and Bourne downing buckets as Townsville opened up a five-point gap at quarter-time.
Southside Melbourne replied with a 7-2 spurt to start the second quarter, before Sowah and Woods stepped up to guide the Fire to a 39-34 lead at the main break.
Townsville went on an 8-2 run to start the third quarter, but Bourne sank 12 points to close the deficit to eight.
The Fire dominated the final quarter, slotting 27 points to 14 to emerge victorious.
The Southside Melbourne Flyers hit the road again this Friday, 5th December, to take on international and Chinese basketball superstar Han Xu and the Perth Lynx. Fans can watch live from 9:30pm AEDT on 9NOW, ESPN, and ESPN on Disney.
The team will then return home and match up against the Bendigo Spirit on Sunday, 7th December at 6:30pm at the State Basketball Centre. $10 tickets are selling fast and can be purchased through Intix here.
