Even without the legendary Lauren Jackson, the Southside Flyers remain genuine WNBL title contenders, as shown by their hard-fought 75-69 win over Bendigo Spirit at Geelong Arena.
Jackson, the Flyers' 41-year-old captain and the greatest basketballer Australia has produced, suffered a season-ending achilles tear in her tribute game, which Southside lost by a point to the Sydney Flames at John Cain Arena a week ago.
The Flyers bounced back impressively on Saturday - from both the result and Jackson's heart-wrenching news - against fellow top-four dwellers Bendigo in this weekend's only fixture.
After scores were tied at halftime, Southside pulled away by eight points early in the fourth before fighting off a late Spirit charge.
Bendigo moved ahead by one point on a 13-4 run but were left to rue missed free throws down the stretch - a season-long irritant.
At the other end, Carley Ernst's triple restored the Flyers' lead before acting skipper Bec Cole buried a three-pointer and swished two foul shots to ensure victory as Southside moved to 13-5.
Flyers import Kayla Thornton (19 points) led all scorers, while Abby Wehrung (18) headed the charge for the fourth-ranked Spirit (11-7).
The Indigenous split round continues on Wednesday when Townsville Fire host the Melbourne Boomers in a top-of-the-table blockbuster at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.
The pre-match hype is genuine, with the Fire (12-4) riding a seven-game winning streak and the Boomers (also 12-4) returning to their lethal best last Sunday when they trounced Bendigo by 43 points.
With their confidence restored, the Flyers face fifth-placed Perth Lynx (9-7) at Parkville on Sunday.
Perth will be favoured to down lowly Adelaide Lightning on Thursday and can heap pressure on the top four by knocking off Southside.
The Canberra Capitals host Adelaide next Saturday before the split round wraps up on Sunday evening when Sydney tackle Melbourne at Quaycentre.
