For three quarters, the Sydney-based club tore the Fever apart and they carried a seemingly unassailable 14 point lead into the final quarter.
But the Fever, who led the competition for every round prior to this one, went down swinging with a seismic momentum shift in the final term that allowed them to slash that deficit to just three goals in the final minute.
Tragedy struck, though, as in-form Fever centre Verity Charles had to be carried from the court with only 59 seconds remaining with an apparent knee injury that has her finals campaign in doubt.
From there, the Giants were able to hold on to secure the win and claim top spot. Nissan MVP Jo Harten was punishing in offence as the Giants routinely broke down the Fever defence, but she was also bruising defensively in a complete performance.
The Fever showed that there is almost no margin their opposition should feel comfortable with, surging home with a 22-11 final quarter to come within an inch of stealing victory.
West Coast will face a nervous wait to see their final standing now, with the Lightning a chance of stealing second place from them if they can defeat the Vixens and claim all four bonus points in their clash in Melbourne tomorrow.
The Giants gave the Fever little room to breathe in the early exchanges, smothering them with a strong brand of defence and helping themselves to a 3-0 start to the match.
The home side controlled 65% of the possession in the first four minutes and stunned the Fever, who called a timeout to find answers to arrest an 8-3 deficit.
It was a smart timeout, with the Fever then disrupting the Giants’ flow and grafting their way back to within two goals. Giants wing attack Kim Green was having a monster of a game in the midcourt, though, finding her target in Jo Harten with regular precision.
The Giants seized the momentum again in the latter stages of the quarter, taking the bonus point that secured their place in the top two and a 21-16 lead.
It was an even start to the second quarter, with the Fever keeping pace with Giants for the most part. But Harten was routinely finding space in the goal circle, and cashed in at the offensive end.
Midway through the term Giants had pressed out to a 30-23 lead and the Fever needed another timeout to talk things over.
It gave the home side a 10-goal half-time advantage and one hand on the minor premiership. Fever goalkeeper Stacey Francis appeared to battle with back pain in the first half but denied that she was carrying an injury at half-time and was determined to play on.
Fever coach Stacey Marinkovich rung a host of changes in the third quarter to find a way to break down the Giants, with Nat Medhurst, Kaylia Stanton and Ingrid Colyer all rotated through the attack positions.
It was the Fever’s best quarter of the match, but the Giants still won to take a massive 58-44 lead into the final quarter.
Finally, the Fever got the momentum shift they needed in the final quarter and pegged back some of the deficit with an 11-5 run at the start of the term.
The charge had the Giants all at sea and that margin was slashed to just five goals with three minutes left on the clock. Charles’ injury was the last thing the Fever needed, though, and the Giants were able to hold on.
The final match of the regular season will see the Melbourne Vixens play host to the Sunshine Coast Lightning at Hisense Arena, with the winner likely to take the last finals spot on offer.
The Lightning has a chance to push above the Firebirds into third position if they can win and claim three bonus points and second position if they can win all four quarters and improve their percentage. The first centre pass will be at 1pm on Sunday.
Q1: Giants 21 v Fever 16
Q2: Giants 17 v Fever 12
Q3: Giants 20 v Fever 16
Q4: Giants 11 v Fever 22
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
Giants 7
Fever 1
Giants shooting statistics
Susan Pettitt 35/40
Jo Harten 34/40
Fever shooting statistics
Jhaniele Fowler 63/72
Nat Medhurst 2/4
Kaylia Stanton 1/1
Giants starting seven
GS: Susan Pettitt, GA: Jo Harten, WA: Kim Green, C: Serena Guthrie, WD: Jamie-Lee Price, GD: Bec Bulley, GK: Sam Poolman
Fever starting seven
GS: Jhaniele Fowler, GA: Nat Medhurst, WA: Ingrid Colyer, C: Verity Charles, WD: Jess Anstiss, GD: Stacey Francis, GK: Courtney Bruce
Nissan MVP: Jo Harten
