The Perth Lynx have bounced back from a disappointing loss to defeat the Bendigo Spirit 79-64, catapulting them into second place on the WNBL ladder.
After being overwhelmed in an 88-69 loss to the Geelong Venom on Tuesday, the Lynx manufactured a 28-15 third-quarter blitz to take down the reigning champions at the Perth High Performance Centre.
Amy Atwell (21 points, six rebounds, three assists) was at the centre of it, registering her third consecutive double-digit scoring performance and helping her side to a 5-1 record.
Alex Ciabattoni and Anneli Maley were also their usual busy selves, complementing 16 and 12 points respectively with three and 16 rebounds.
After only one player recorded a double-digit scoring game against Geelong, four players bucketed 10 or more points on Sunday, with the Lynx also registering 22 assists.
"It all starts with Amy Atwell. Once she gets going, she has so much gravity," coach Ryan Petrik said.
"Everyone's going to try to target Amy Atwell, but after that, who's next. So today, there was a really good balance across the board."
Petrik also said the Lynx didn't need to overreact after the midweek loss.
"We knew that game was going to be tough, and we've got another one coming up later in the season, so we need some better strategies," he said.
Perth's strong team effort and Bendigo's 16 turnovers also cost the Spirit (3-2) their opportunity to claim their first road win of the season.
Bendigo's young guns, Izzy Borlase (16 points, five rebounds) and Megan McConnell (14 points, eight rebounds) were their most influential players.
But, they missed experienced heads Abbey Wehrung and Casey Samuels with injury, as the side ended their three-game winning streak.
"We conceded 14 points through turnovers, so it was almost a point per turnover," coach Kennedy Kereama said.
"It was frustrating. I think a lot of players were making the right decisions, just the pass execution (was the issue)."
It was a tight first quarter as both teams exchanged early buckets, but Perth edged ahead to lead by two points at quarter-time.
The Lynx came out firing in the second quarter, going on a 5-0 run, but McConnell and Borlase helped keep Bendigo in touch as Perth went to halftime up 38-35.
Ciabattoni and Brianna Turner helped Perth pull away from the turnover-ridden Spirit and build a 16-point three-quarter time lead.
Atwell and Ally Wilson then helped the Lynx keep their healthy lead to finish the match.
