The Melbourne Vixens have bounced back from a disappointing draw last week to defeat the West Coast Fever 56-45 at Hisense Arena on Saturday night.
A fourth-quarter masterclass saw the home side blow the Fever off the court 17-11 as they turned their modest lead throughout the match into an emphatic 11-goal victory.
Heading in to the round four clash, the Vixens were still searching for strong last-quarter performance and they certainly made amends for their disappointing last-minute draw with the NSW Swifts last week.
Vixens shooter Mwai Kumwenda top scored for the match with 36 goals from 39 attempts at 92 per cent and Tegan Philip shot 20 from 26.
The win moves Melbourne (2W, 1L, 1D) into equal second on the ladder while the Fever remain winless.
Fever will be buoyed by the performance of shooter Kaylia Stanton who started her first match, ahead of Kate Beveridge, and scored 28 from 37 attempts in three quarters under tight and aggressive defence from Emily Mannix and Jo Weston.
Coming in to the match, Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said she was still looking for a consistent performance from her side across an entire match, and that's just what she got.
"I think the first three quarters it was hard going, we didn't really get the flow that we wanted but I certainly couldn't be much happier with the last quarter. Definitely," McKinnis said.
"We were letting it go, we were taking the drives, we were scoring off our ball, so very happy with the finish.
"You know Fever were not letting go and kept coming back, as it was last week (against the Swifts), so to have that last quarter flurry and to push on, it's pleasing."
McKinnis used the opportunity against the bottom of the table Fever to make a change to her regualr starting line-up, giving Khao Watts a run in the midcourt with Kate Moloney and Liz Watson at centre.
The move paid off as the Vixens built a steady four goal lead by the first break and maintained their advantage through to half time.
A run of goals early in the third quarter gave the Vixen a handy seven-goal lead, however the Fever weren't going to let up and led by gutsy Nat Medhurst clawed the deficit back to five at the last break.
Chloe Weston rejoined the Vixens frontline in place of Watts for the final quarter as the home side put away the visitors.
The Vixens have won 17 of last 19 matches against the Fever.
The Vixens will travel to Brisbane to take on the Queensland Firebirds next week while the Fever play the Swifts.
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