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UNFASHIONABLE Adelaide and depleted Geelong were the talk of WNBL Round 4 after not just stunning but convincing wins over Sydney and Perth respectively, Lilly Rotunno wracking up career-highs for the Venom, while title favourite Townsville went about restoring order.

With key on-court organiser Alex Ciabattoni out (ankle), in the endgame at home to the Fire, Perth could not find any consistent sets to trouble the visitors.

It also could not withstand the shooting of former Lynx guard Miela Sowah who swished a game-high four 3-pointers in her game-high 26-point return.

It was Sowah again in Geelong who kept the Venom at bay after Mackenzie Holmes' 3-pointer brought the home team to within 51-54 late in the third period.

Sowah then stuck consecutive threes, followed by a Courtney Woods layup for the lead to again balloon back out to double figures at 62-51.

Jaz Shelley stalled the Fire outburst at 8-0 before Lucy Olsen chimed in and Townsville would not be caught.

In Bendigo, the defending champs were taken the distance by a Canberra team coming in off a 64-73 loss to the Flames in Sydney but playing with renewed vigour.

With Issy Borlase (25 points) hot and Kelsey Griffin hauling down 16 rebounds, the Spirit several times looked capable of shaking off the Caps for a comfortable win.

But with 1:41 left, Sara Blicavs' layup gave Canberra a 69-68 lead, Bendigo guard Megan McConnell needing to pull out a 3-pointer to restore the lead at 71-69. 

Just over a minute left and Jade Melbourne's floater tied it at 71-71, the game going down to the wire for a Marianna Tolo match-winning play after she rebounded her own miss to score, clinching a 73-71 home escape.

Having cruised past Canberra earlier in the round, Sydney hit Adelaide's "Sparkhouse" full of confidence only to immediately be rocked onto its heels as the Lightning continued its defensive commitment to steadily pull away.

Serena Sundell was firing and Dallas Loughridge continuing from where she left off after lowering Jade Melbourne's colours a week earlier.

Sania Feagin was active and accurate, Adelaide taking a 46-33 lead into halftime, and that was despite Steph Talbot chalking up a single point, no rebounds nor assists, and four turnovers.

Talbot came out with a new mindset after the break as Lightning went on a withering 28-10 run, Tayla Brazel breaking the Flames with three consecutive 3-point makes in the third.

His team offering mostly token resistance - Shaneice Swain made it to 16 points - Sydney's effort  was lacking until Guy Molloy cleared his bench. They helped cut sufficiently into a deficit that at one point was a whopping 33 points, to make the final scoreline almost acceptable.

Ruby Porter and Jordyn Freer off Lightning's bench had a couple of stellar moments, as did Jaz Fejo, the only blemish a potentially serious knee injury for Sundell, who was enjoying her best WNBL performance.

Back to Perth where Anneli Maley loaded the Lynx onto her shoulders, dragging them to a three-point win over Southside.

Amy Atwell's shooting struggles again were evident, her 16 points on 4-of-18, as the Flyers continued to dominate through Isabelle Bourne (22 points, 9 rebounds), Maddi Rocci (15 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists ... and 8 turnovers) and Cayla George (17 points, 14 rebounds).

Southside led by as many as 16 at 66-50 late in the third quarter and appeared safely home. Maley had other ideas, 

Fouled on a 3-point attempt, Atwell nailed all three freebies, then Ally Wilson swished a triple before Perth's 9-0 run was concluded by a George bucket. 

Maley had 13 of her 22 points in the final quarter as she drove her team into the lead, ahead 77-73 with only a minute remaining, Southside floundering and unable to stall the onslaught.

Subbed in late by the Flyers, Manuela Puoch banged in an amazing 3-point basket for 76-77 to provide hope, Ciabattoni's cool FTs delivering the final score.

Last night Atwell was hitting everything in Geelong, taking 19 points into halftime where Perth led 44-38.

Rotunno, a starter for the Venom releasing Shelley to run as the shooting guard, turned in arguably the performance of the round. Gemma Potter subdued by foul issues, Rotunno picked up to score a career-best 21 points at 64 per cent, with 3-of-4 threes, plus 10 assists. She was a livewire throughout.

Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard's 4-of-5 threes helped break Perth's back, Geelong recovering from a 12-point deficit (23-35) in the second quarter by halftime, then posting an aggressive 26-14 third quarter.

Mackenzie Holmes again stood tallest, compiling 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, Shelley sparkling with 14 points and a whopping six steals, and Alex Sharp steady for 12 points and 8 boards.

After sizzling in the first half, Atwell only added a 3-pointer after the interval, Maley held to an 8-point, 6-rebound return, import Brianna Turner and Ally Wilson largely contained as Geelong built its lead out to an unassailable 21.

Round 4

Townsville Fire 79 (Sowah 26, Fowler 16, Woods 12, Cox 11, Olsen 10; Cox 12 rebs; Woods 9 assts) d Perth Lynx 70 (Maley 21, Graham 13, Turner 12, Wilson 10; Maley 14 rebs; Turner 5 assts) at The Larynx, Perth High Performance Centre. Crowd: 1,621

Sydney Flames 73 (Thompson, Swain 19, Nicholson 12; Thompson 9 rebs; Epoupa 5 assts) d Canberra Capitals 64 (Blicavs 18, Melbourne 14, Morrell 8; Morrell 10 rebs; Melbourne 6 assts) at The Hothouse, Quaycentre. Crowd: 1,467

Townsville Fire 86 (Sowah 20, Olsen 13, Ellis, Froling 11, Fowler, Cox 10; Froling 13 rebs; Woods 6 assts) d Geelong Venom 61 (Holmes 24, Potter 12, Sharp 11; Holmes 8 rebs; Shelley 8 assts) at The Strikehouse, Geelong Arena. Crowd: 1,110

Bendigo Spirit 73 (Borlase 25, Griffin 11, Tolo, McConnell 10; Griffin 16 rebs; Pollerd 4 assts) d Canberra Capitals 71 (Sissoko 19, Melbourne 15, Puoch 10; Munger 7 rebs; Melbourne 4 assts) at the Goldmine, Red Energy Centre. Crowd: 1,122

Adelaide Lightning 88 (Sundell 20, Feagin 18, Loughridge 14, Talbot 10; Feagin 9 rebs; Loughridge 6 assts) d Sydney Flames 71 (Swain 16, Nicholson 14, Froling 12, McSpadden 11; Thompson 7 rebs; 3 with 3 assts) at the Sparkhouse, State Basketball Centre. Crowd: 1,726

Perth Lynx 79 (Maley 22, Atwell 16, Wilson 14, Morris 11; Maley 13 rebs; Wilson 4 assts) d Southside Flyers 76 (Bourne 22, George 17, Rocci 15; George 14 rebs; Rocci 10 assts) at The Larynx, Perth HP Centre. Crowd: 1,146

Geelong Venom 88 (Holmes 22, Rotunno 21, Clinch Hoycard 15, Shelley 14, Sharp 12; Holmes 12 rebs; Rotunno 10 assts) d Perth Lynx 69 (Atwell 22, Ciabattoni, Morris 10; Morris, Turner 7 rebs; Wilson 6 assts) at The Strikehouse, Geelong Arena. Crowd: 815