The Perth Wildcats have moved back to the top of the NBL ladder after an 84-78 overtime victory against the Melbourne Tigers at the State Netball Hockey Centre on Saturday night.
The result also ends Melbourne's playoffs hopes after the Hawks defeated Gold Coast in Wollongong.
Perth showed no ill-effects of playing its third match in four days as it dominated overtime to secure the six-point victory.
Shawn Redhage was the Wildcats' main contributor with 17 points, including six in the extra period, while Kevin Lisch hit four three-pointers on his way to 17 points as well.
Stephen Weigh and Jesse Wagstaff also added a valuable 10 points each.
Star American import Julius Hodge once again led the Tigers with 24 points, while compatriot Mike Rose added 12 and Chris Anstey 10.
For much of the night it looked like Melbourne would cause an upset and keep its playoffs hopes alive and when Hodge scored the first points of the extra period, the hosts had all the momentum.
But Redhage immediately responded with a three-pointer and then another two from the free-throw line to hand the Wildcats the lead.
Tommy Greer pulled one back from the charity stripe before Stephen Weigh sent the Wildcats four points clear with a superb offensive rebound and slam dunk in the one motion.
Melbourne showed its frustration with a number of fouls late in the game and five successful Perth free-throws later saw the visitors suddenly enjoy a nine-point lead as the match entered its final minute.
It proved too much for the Tigers as Perth kept its minor premiership hopes alive with a hard-fought victory.
Going into the fourth stanza trailing by four points, the Wildcats found themselves short of big men when Luke Schenscher fouled out and then Galen Young did likewise with still over six minutes of regulation time remaining in the match.
But they were still able to hit the front with Lisch hitting a massive three-pointer to give his side a one-point lead with 4:40 left in the final quarter.
The Tigers responded with a Greer three-point play only for Weigh to tie up the scores with a classy jump shot.
Both sides missed gettable shots before Lisch finally gave the Wildcats the lead with just 22 seconds left.
Hodge immediately responded to level the scores again and Perth wasted the final play of the fourth period as the match went to overtime.
It was a cagey beginning with both sides committing turnovers and struggling to score points.
Perth raced out to an early five-point lead before Hodge inspired his side with two telling slam dunks that had the crowd on its feet.
The first was the product of a desperate Sam Mackinnon, who forced a turnover when the Wildcats were looking to mount an attack, while the second was all class as the American intercepted a loose pass and ran the length of the court to add another two points.
The Tigers poured in 12 unanswered points to grab a seven-point lead, before Redhage responded with a three-pointer to stop the run.
Mark Worthington then nailed a three with the first quarter winding down, while Redhage added two from the free-throw line to reduce the deficit to five at the first change (21-16).
The visitors were quickly back on level terms at the start of the second quarter with Damian Martin connecting from long range and Martin Cattalini scoring from close range.
Hodge combined with Daniel Johnson twice in the space of one minute to push the Tigers up by five, only for Lisch to hit consecutive threes and give his side the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.
It was short-lived though with Rose scoring from beyond the arc and another Hodge dunk restoring the Tigers' six-point advantage.
However the Wildcats closed the half with the last five points to reduce the gap to just one at the long break (38-37).
Neither side was able to break clear in the early stages of the third quarter with the lead changing no less than six times.
It was Hodge's compatriot Rose that inspired the Tigers with nine points in the stanza, while Schenscher was benched midway through the term after racking up four fouls.
Hodge let himself down with a technical foul that allowed the Wildcats to draw level only for the import to respond with a three-point play to keep his side in front.
A superb Rose steal led to him running the length of the court and scoring an easy lay-up to give Melbourne a four-point lead going into the final quarter (62-58).
Melbourne's (11-15) next match is away to Wollongong on Friday night, while Perth (16-11) hosts Townsville on Sunday week in the last match of the regular season.
'OAMPS' Melbourne Tigers 78 (Hodge 24, Rose 12, Anstey 10)
Perth Wildcats 84 (Redhage 17, Lisch 17, Weigh 10)
@ The Cage, 6/2/2010. Crowd: 3,368
