Table-toppers Queensland Firebirds enter the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak after trouncing New Zealand outfit Southern Steel in their final ANZ Championship netball regular season match.
Already assured of hosting the Australian conference final next Sunday, the Firebirds maintained momentum and confidence with a 66-50 win, with Jamaican shooter Romelda Aiken finishing with 49 goals.
The haul takes her past 500 season goals for the third year in a row and fifth time in her career.
The Firebirds now await the winner of Friday's Australian conference elimination final between the second-placed NSW Swifts and third-placed West Coast Fever at Sydney Olympic Park.
All is not lost for the young Steel team who cemented third spot in the New Zealand conference and a place in their elimination final when rivals Central Pulse lost to Adelaide Thunderbirds earlier on Sunday.
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They'll face second-ranked Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in Hamilton on Saturday for the right to play Northern Mystics in the Kiwi conference final. The two conference winners then clash for the title on June 21.
The Mystics finished fourth behind all three Australian playoff teams on the overall ladder and it's hard to see any team beating captain Laura Geitz's red-hot Firebirds, who finished the regular season with 11 wins, a draw and just one loss - to West Coast in the opening round.
"It's a really good way to finish off the season being outright on top," said Firebirds coach Roselee Jenke.
"Being able to beat every team in the competition ... that gives us a confidence boost.
"We're still looking for that consistency for the four quarters, there were some momentum swings today but we just had more."
Geitz implored Queensland fans to turn up the volume in the Brisbane Entertainment Centre even more in next Sunday's conference final.
"We want to be able to walk into an absolute fortress," she said.
"We're known as having one of the loudest and proudest crowds. We want to pack the place out and prove to ourselves and everyone else just how good 'netty' is in Queensland."
