State Basketball League: Mandurah Magic women claim thrilling overtime win against Joondalup Wolves

With scores tied at 66 Slovakian import Palusna hit a go-ahead layup to give her side a two-point buffer with just nine ticks left on the clock.

Joondalup had the chance to match the game-saving play with one of their own in the remaining seconds, but Kelly Bailey stepped up with a steal in the nick of time to save the day for the Magic as they escaped with a 68-66 win.

Anita Brown was the star of the night with 30 points and nine rebounds, but Mandurah was forced to fight tooth and nail for the win after the Wolves clawed their way back from an early deficit across the final three quarters.

The Magic landed the first blow of the game when they outscored Joondalup 21-14 in the opening quarter on the back of nine points from Brown.

Mandurah looked to be rolling when Joondalup all of a sudden found their rhythm in the second, pegging the visitors’ lead back to just two points at the end of the first half.

An even third quarter saw the Magic retaining that lead heading into the fourth, but a miraculous three-point heave from Olivia Basso tied the scores with just five seconds left, and sent the game into overtime.

Both sides went blow-for-blow in the extra five minutes, with a free-throw from Brown tying things up with 48 seconds on the clock.

Joondalup’s Kourteney Zadina put in a stellar performance across the entire game, but her missed shot with 17 seconds on the clock allowed Mandurah to take possession.

Brown drove to the basket but came up short on her layup attempt, but Palusna hauled in the offensive rebound and put the ball in the hoop for the two points they needed to win the game.

Bailey’s steal iced the cake as Mandurah snapped a two-game losing skid and picked up their first win since May 4.

Brown led the game in scoring while Palusna recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.