Amy Atwell has provided the fireworks to power the Perth Lynx to a scintillating 98-81 victory against the Southside Melbourne Flyers in the WNBL.
In front of a raucous crowd at the Perth High Performance Centre on Friday to celebrate Chinese import Han Xu's first home game, Atwell shone brightest, firing a season-high 32 points.
The captain came within one point of equalling Mackenzie Holmes' record for most points in a game this season (33), as she scored 21 in the first half to prime the side for victory.
But with three minutes to spare, coach Ryan Petrik substituted the sharp-shooter out, denying her the opportunity to claim the milestone.
It wasn't just Atwell who was busy, though, as Anneli Maley secured her fifth double-double of the season (13 points, 19 rebounds), while Alex Ciabattoni slotted 21 points.
Perth have improved to 7-3, as they enjoyed their highest-scoring match since January.
"This is the cherry on top of the week," Atwell said after also buying a house and appearing at the Perth Scorchers WBBL match on Tuesday.
"It took me a while to get my legs back underneath me, but I'm definitely feeling better."
Opal Cayla George (15 rebounds) and Han were the headline match-up, and they delivered, mixing style with substance to make 16 and 19 points, respectively.
But Petrik insists Han still has to understand the side's system better.
"There's a boatload more improvement," he said.
"In pre-season, we train four times a week on court. She has trained six times, so while the team is in round eight, Han is halfway through week two of preseason."
The Flyers (3-5) weren't able to wrestle back Perth's first-half lead, as they conceded a costly 21 fouls and missed 55 percent of their shots.
Although they were without experienced head Haley Peters after sustaining a shoulder injury, point guard Maddi Rocci worked the floor for a season-high 24 points to go with her eight rebounds.
"They are a quality group. They shoot the lights out, and having Han there makes it a lot more difficult to guard," coach Kristi Harrower said.
"We need to stay in those moments when that scoreboard pressure happens."
The match started at a rapid pace before Perth, buoyed by Atwell and Ciabattoni's sharp shooting, went on an 18-2 run to create a 12-point quarter-time buffer.
Atwell continued to pile on the points while Maley pounced on rebounds to compound Perth's lead to 63-35 at the main break.
