The Sunshine Coast Lightning's resurrection as a premiership force has gained momentum with a 69-62 win over defending champions NSW Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena.
After stumbling in the opening two rounds, the Lightning are once again roaring after consecutive victories against the previous two champions, having overcome Melbourne Vixens last week.
With Steph Wood (eight goals) uncharacteristically quiet on Saturday, the Lightning needed spark from elsewhere.
They found it from goal shooter Cara Koenen (48 goals at 98 per cent), defender Tara Hinchliffe and teenager Reilley Batcheldor, who produced a stunning nine-minute third-term blitz to put her side into the competition top four.
"It was a bit ugly at times from us," Koenen said.
"We hadn't won two consecutive games yet so this was a crucial one for us."
Swifts captain Maddy Proud set aside the disappointment of being overlooked for the Diamonds squad to notch a game-high 57 feeds.
A brave performance from defender Sarah Klau aside, the Swifts could not win enough ball in the second half to supply shooters Helen Housby (31 goals) and Sophie Fawns (21).
It was a fascinating strategic battle between two of the competition's youngest and brightest coaches - the Swifts' two-time premiership mentor Briony Akle and the Lightning and national under-21 boss Kylee Byrne.
Akle initially tried to create a height mismatch by using Klau at goal defence but it backfired when the Lightning seized a six-goal lead late in the first quarter.
Klau looked out of sorts trying to track Lightning skipper Wood as the Swifts' defence failed to slow the visitors' slick ball movement.
If Klau was unwell it was not reflected by her second quarter output. Dropped back to her more familiar role at goal keeper, she worked valiantly to drag the Swifts back into the contest.
The Diamonds squad member's eight first-half deflections did much to inject some belief into the side for the second half.
Byrne used almost every resource available to her in the second half to pump energy into her side.
She made a whopping nine changes in the third quarter and the one that worked most effectively was the injection of Batcheldor.
The rookie shot a perfect seven-from-seven for the term, including four booming super shots.
