The Perth Lynx are back in the WNBL's winners circle after producing a remarkable final quarter comeback to topple the Southside Melbourne Flyers 79-76.
Anneli Maley was the hero with 22 points and 13 rebounds as she sparked Perth's fightback from 16 points down late in the third quarter.
The dramatic victory came as the Flyers led from the fifth until the second-last minute, before Manuela Puoch scored with 10.6 seconds left to cut the deficit to one at Perth's High Performance Centre on Sunday.
After conceding a foul, Isabelle Bourne had one more chance to level the scores, but her three-point shot travelled wayward, and the Lynx claimed their second last-quarter comeback of the season.
Wearing a superhero-style face mask to cover her broken nose, Ally Wilson also stepped up to secure a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds), while Amy Atwell (16 points) shone.
The win came as a sharp response for the Lynx (4-1) after their loss to Townsville on Tuesday, and cements their position inside the WNBL's top four.
"Her (Maley) fourth quarter tonight was so good and came at a really important time for us," Perth coach Ryan Petrik said.
"We were great through three quarters and did enough to hang around after the first half.
"The third quarter was very poor. And the fourth quarter was probably the best quarter we've played all year."
For the Flyers (2-2), they fell just short of sealing a winning hat-trick for the first time in 627 days, as 15 turnovers cost them.
Maddi Rocci was also one rebound off becoming the first player to secure a triple-double this WNBL season, complementing 15 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Cayla George secured her third consecutive double-double (17 points, 14 rebounds) while Bourne scored a season-high 22 points.
Flyers coach Kristi Harrower said the side's three-point shooting inaccuracy cost them as they netted just 10 buckets from 37 attempts.
"We just got out of control in that last quarter," she said.
"We had three people fall off, and they probably are the three most important people.
"It's a matter of staying poised, getting the job done, locking down, digging deep in those moments, and just being more patient on the offensive end."
Both teams exchanged early buckets, and Bourne fired 10 points to guide Southside to a four-point quarter-time lead.
The Flyers started the second term going on a 6-0 run before the Lynx slowly chipped away to trail 42-39 at halftime.
Rocci and Bourne steered Southside to their 16-point lead in the third quarter, which the Lynx couldn't diminish.
But Perth manufactured a 7-0 run to start the fourth, before edging in front and hanging on.
