IN ONE of the most dominant final quarter performances of the last few years in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), the Perth Lynx stormed home in their clash against the Sydney Flames to claim a six-point win.

The Lynx hosted the Flames on Sunday afternoon at the Perth High Performance Centre in what was shaping as a balanced matchup. The Lynx had secured an impressive first up win over the Adelaide Lightning in Round 1, while the Flames were 1-1 after two games, and were looking to bounce back following a loss to the Southside Flyers earlier in the round.

Although the Lightning seemed to be in the box seat at the final change, the last 10 minutes of play completely belonged to the Lynx, who overcame a 10-point three-quarter time deficit to claim their second win of the season.

Perth Lynx (73) def. Sydney Flames (67)

The Lightning were able to silence the crowd out west with a strong start to proceedings, going on a 7-0 run midway through the first quarter to get some breathing space on the scoreboard after a scrappy opening few minutes. Both teams were finding success scoring the ball inside, and at the first change, it was the visitors who held a six-point lead.

It was a see-sawing affair in the second quarter, with Perth doing enough to stay in the match but also being unable to truly take control of the contest. Every time the Lynx looked to make a run, it was answered down the other end by the Flames, who managed to extend their lead out to eight points at half-time and maintain ascendancy on the road.

The Lynx were able to tie up proceedings midway though the third quarter, and the match remained extremely close for a large portion of the term as proceedings returned to the scrappy nature of the first frame. However, a quick burst by the Lightning to close out the term saw the visitors snatch a 10-point lead and all of the momentum heading into the final frame.

Despite how the previous three quarters had unfolded, the Lynx produced an outstanding display of dominance in the fourth term, completely owning the final stages of the match. After a slow start to the term where neither side could hit the scoreboard, Alexandra Ciabattoni and Amy Atwell sparked their side with a 10-0 run to tie up the match, before sealing the contest at the charity stripe to cap off a remarkable fourth quarter performance where they outscored the Lightning 25-9 to complete the comeback.

Atwell was able to overcome some inaccuracy from the field to finish with a team-high 24 points, thanks to shooting 11/13 from the charity stripe. Anneli Maley was her usual dominant self with a massive double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds, while Ciabattoni poured in 15 points of her own, many of which came in a decisive fourth quarter stretch.

Despite the loss, the Lightning will be encouraged by how much of the contest they controlled, largely thanks to the performance of skipper Lauren Nicholson, who led by example with 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Unique Thompson had 12 points, 12 boards and four steals in a typically towering display.