Back-to-back champions Queensland Firebirds suffered a humiliating 16-goal defeat at home to the Melbourne Vixens on Saturday night.
The Vixens dominated in all areas of the court in the feisty encounter.
Liz Watson provided 15 assists for the leading twin-scoring partnership in the competition, Mwai Kumwenda (41 from 43) and Tegan Philip (25 from 27), as they ran out 66-50 victors.
The Firebirds in contrast were untidy with the ball, losing the turnover battle 35-25.
Star shooter Romelda Aiken (37 from 46) was inaccurate early, giving the Vixens momentum which was never stifled.
Philip, who along with skipper Kate Moloney are the only remaining members of the 2014 Trans-Tasman-winning Vixens side, was particularly impressive, consistently scoring from long range.
Frustrated Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke rang the changes with Jemma MiMi being brought on for high-profile recruit Erin Burger towards the end of the second quarter and Abigail Latu-Meafou replacing Gretel Tippett at three-quarter-time, but the moves did not change the visitors' dominance.
Down 33-23 at the long break, the Firebirds needed a strong performance in the third quarter but instead were outscored 19-10, effectively killing off the game.
The victory lifts the Vixens into second behind the GWS Giants on the ladder, while with two defeats and a draw from their first five games the Firebirds (fourth) don't look to be the dominant force of recent years.
Firebirds skipper Gabi Simpson admitted her side was feeling low after the performance.
"It's definitely one of the worst losses I've had here," said Simpson, who joined the Firebirds in 2013.
"Sometimes you need a couple of defeats to get the kick in the bum to step in the right direction."
Vixens' star Philip knew her team would put in a strong performance in Brisbane, even if the win came a little easier than expected.
"We knew we had to go out and play hard and let the ball go and if we did that it would pay off," Philip said.
"It's not a surprise to us how we're playing, we worked hard in pre-season and expected this."
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