THE Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) postseason kicked off on Wednesday night, with the Southside Flyers taking home a four-point win over the Melbourne Boomers at Melbourne Sports Centre in Parkville.

Following an extremely entertaining season, the top four was locked in throughout the course of the last round of the fixture, and what better way to start the finals than a matchup between two cross-town rivals.

Southside had the opportunity to lock in top spot in the last weekend of the regular season, but a loss to the Adelaide Lightning saw it drop to second place. On the other hand, the Boomers escaped with a one-point win over the UC Capitals to book third spot and set up a tantalising all-Melbourne matchup.

In the end, it was the Flyers that took the advantage in the series, emerging 90-86 winners in front of a small, but vocal crowd.

Southside Flyers (90) def. Melbourne Boomers (86)

The game kicked off with some blitzing offence from both sides, with the two teams putting an emphasis in scoring the ball and getting off to a high-scoring start. The Boomers led by three points at the main break, setting up a pulsating second half of play.

Southside stormed back into the match in the third quarter, overwhelming the Boomers with constant pressure on the offensive end. The Flyers’ big guns stood up and helped the home side erase the deficit and take the lead with 10 minutes to play.

It was a thrilling final quarter, with the Flyers breaking out to a double-digit lead early in the period. Despite the game looking done and dusted, the Boomers delivered a masterful comeback on the back of five three-pointers in a three and a half minute span.

With three minutes on the clock, the margin was whittled down to just one point with just three minutes on the clock. With momentum on their side, the Boomers looked to overrun the Flyers, but Southside drained seven consecutive free throws to ice the game.

In the big games, the cream rises to the top, and that was the case with Lauren Jackson top-scoring for the winning side. Australia’s ‘GOAT’ female basketball player posted 20 points and knocked down some clutch free throws at the end of the game. Leilani Mitchell had 18 points on 5/7 shooting and played a crucial role as well.

For the Boomers, Keely Froling was immense with a game-high 23 points, knocking down nine shots on 14 attempts in a strong offensive performance.

The two sides will lock horns again at the same venue on Saturday night.