But although they were scratchy, Wagga Blaze sealed top spot in their pool for the playoffs with a 71-67 come-from-behind win over Goulburn at Bolton Park.

The Blaze looked destined for an upset loss before their imports, point guard Shakera Barnes (17 points) and forward Khiani Clark (27) took over down the stretch.

Down seven with less than four minutes left, the Blaze rallied and levelled scores at 61-all at the end of regulation. Clark made a lay-up with seconds left off a Barnes long pass after Goulburn missed a free throw.

The Waratah Basketball League division one defending champions will now play Tamworth for a spot in the decider on finals weekend at Gosford in a fortnight.

"Those girls (Barnes and Clark) have played in college together for the last four years, they know how each other plays," Blaze coach Peter O'Leary said.

"The defensive effort we brought out in the fourth quarter lifted us. Shakera was probably the mainstay in getting us back into it, and Khiani played well too."

With her side struggling to score when down by eight at three quarter time, Barnes took over the game and scored 11 of her points from that point onward.

Veteran Caren Hugo (12 points) was also vital off the bench at both ends, particularly late as her experience came into play.

Forward Abbey Morton played with an ankle injury, while Blaze captain Stephanie Male was unavailable.

The Blaze were smashed on the glass, with rebounding a major priority to improve before finals.

"Our rebounding was atrocious. We had girls standing outside watching and we have a bigger team than most," O'Leary said.

WAGGA BLAZE 71 (K Clark 27, S Barnes 17, C Hugo 12) def GOULBURN BEARS 67 (J Huntley 15, N Lucas 14, G Mitchell 12)

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