Captain Jenna O'Hea has made the clutch play for Melbourne Boomers to bounce back from a nail-biting WNBL loss to University of Canberra Capitals and pip Adelaide Lightning in equally tense fashion.
The third-placed Boomers were caught up in two thrillers to highlight week seven, although neither was as tight as an overtime win for Townsville Fire over Bendigo Spirit.
It could easily have been a triumphant week for Melbourne but Cayla George's last-ditch three-point shot missed after Kia Nurse had given second-placed UCC (6-2) the lead going into the dying stages on Friday. They held on 72-70.
The result halted a four-game winning streak for the Boomers (8-5) but their response was an 84-82 defeat of Adelaide (3-7) on Sunday, capped by Opals veteran O'Shea's game-deciding jump shot near the death.
She finished with a team-high 24 points but couldn't match the output of Lightning's American forward Nia Coffey, who mixed 25 points with 19 rebounds and three steals.
It completed a miserable Victorian double for Adelaide, who lost 70-60 to Dandenong Rangers on Friday.
Lightning drop from fifth to seventh in a straight swap with defending champions Townsville (4-5) who held their nerve against Bendigo (6-4) to prevail 89-82 and stay in touch with the top four.
League legend Suzy Batkovic sunk one of two free throws to force the extra period at 76-76.
Batkovic (25 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks) engaged in a colossal duel with Spirit's American centre Rebecca Tobin (26 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks).
Leaders Perth Lynx (7-2) turned their game against the winless Sydney Flames into a procession, with the 113-67 outcome the biggest score of the season and largest winning margin.
WNBA star Asia Taylor continued to shine with 27 points for Perth while Sydney's (0-10) season was further rocked when sharpshooter Alex Wilson exited the court with a potentially serious leg injury.
