Geelong Venom have continued their strong finish to the WNBL season with an 89-76 win over the Sydney Flames.
With finals out of the equation for both sides, the Venom (7-15) were never headed at any stage at Sydney's Quaycentre on Sunday, leapfrogging the Flames (6-16) into sixth spot on the ladder.
Geelong import Mackenzie Holmes posted 21 points and 11 rebounds, while captain Jazmin Shelley's 20 points included 4-of-6 three-pointers.
The Venom, who shocked the Bendigo Spirit on Friday, have the opportunity to finish the season with three straight victories when they wrap up their campaign against the fifth-placed Canberra Capitals this Saturday.
"We played 36 hours ago, and it was always going to be a grind and a bit sloppy at times," Geelong coach Chris Lucas said.
"But I felt in the third quarter, our energy level kicked in."
Unique Thompson paired 22 points with 11 boards and Agnes Emma-Nnopu scored a career-high 19 points for Sydney, who slumped to their fourth straight loss.
Holmes set an aggressive tone in the paint early as Geelong moved ahead 25-16 at quarter-time.
An 8-0 start to the second term pushed the Venom's buffer to 33-16 before Sydney drew within touching distance, largely through the powerful rebounding of Thompson and Emma-Nnopu.
The pair's work on the offensive glass created second opportunities and the Flames closed the gap to 47-39 when Emma-Nnopu banked a long prayer on the halftime horn.
A Shaneice Swain triple trimmed the deficit to 55-52 in the third, before Geelong upped their defensive intensity and scored nine straight points.
They were spearheaded at both ends by bullocking Alissa Pili, whose older brother Brandon Pili is set to play for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks in next Monday's Super Bowl.
Sydney trailed 64-56 at three-quarter-time, before closing the gap to 64-59 on a three-point play from Thompson.
They were never in the hunt again.
The Venom buried four threes in the space of 104 seconds amid a 16-2 overall burst, which put an end to the Flames' fightback.
"We did dig in," Sydney coach Renae Garlepp said.
"There were multiple times it got blown out and we got it back.
"I can't question the fight of the girls."
