The debut of import Taylor Brown spurred the Mandurah Magic women to a pair of crucial wins over the South West and Joondalup in their double-header over the weekend.
Mandurah took care of business against the top-eight Slammers outfit with a red-hot final term leading them to a 74-82 victory on the road on Friday, and were able to duplicate wins when they overcame a poor start to smash the top-three Joondalup Wolves 73-59 at home the following night.
Brown's first two games in a Magic uniform proved huge for the club, as she tallied totals of 15 and 16 points respectively to play a huge role in the victories.
The win over the Slammers was a celebration for captain Rachel Halleen, who enjoyed success in her 300th State Basketball League game thanks to a dominant last quarter.
Mandurah started the game well to lead by a healthy six points at the half time break, but the South West came charging back into the contest as they restricted their guests to just 11 points in the third.
By the end of the quarter the South West led by two points, and had momentum heading into the final stretch.
But the Magic, buoyed by solid performances to Brown, Casey Mihovilovich, Carly Boag and Delany Junkermier, were able to outgun their hosts and take an eight-point win.
Brown's first night with the Magic garnered her 15 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Mihovilovich starred with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.
Saturday night presented an even more formidable challenge with the top-three Wolves coming to town, but another big night from Brown and a gutsy Emma Klasztorny performance secured Mandurah a third consecutive win.
Joondalup was off to a stunning start when they led by 10 points at the end of the first quarter, but the Magic flipped the script completely to tie things up by half time.
From there Mandurah steamrolled their guests in the second half, outscoring them by a further 14 points to take out a vital win on the season.
The two victories rocket the Magic up to fifth on the ladder, seeing them come into form just six weeks out of the finals.
They hit the road again next week to take on the East Perth Eagles on Friday, 6.30pm.