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PERTH Lynx are one step from joining Perth Wildcats in the national leagues' Grand Finals which would put the WA club within sight of Adelaide's 1998 effort.

That's how long ago the 36ers and the Lightning jointly claimed the NBL and WNBL Championships in the same year, coining the phrase "Titletown" for Adelaide.

(Of course, the Crows winning the AFL and the Thunderbirds winning the netball also helped...)

LAST night the Wildcats took care of business, just playing Game 3 of the Swisse Semi Finals as the seasoned veterans they are, with newcomer Casey Prather adding a touch of splash with his breath-taking dunk over Illawarra centre AJ Ogilvy.

There'd been some niggle and an unsportsmanlike foul apiece earlier so it was quite the statement by Prather as Perth put the final stamp on what was a solid win against a team unable to approximate its best.

Give the Wildcats due credit for that, but 23 turnovers and 38 per cent shooting by Illawarra also played a big role and not all of that was caused by Perth's stellar defence.

Many of Illawarra's wounds were self-inflicted, Ogilvy with 6 turnovers in a dirty night.

In yesterday's preview, the key to the Hawks breaking their long-time Perth hoodoo wasn't the studs doing what they do, but stalwart Hawks such as Oscar Forman, Tim Coenraad, Larry Davidson and Rhys Martin stepping up.

These were the guys left over from last year's bomb shelter resident. Sadly Ossie took three shots for three points, with four rebounds. Coenraad was pointless on 0-of-3 shooting, with one rebound, one assist, two turnovers and four fouls. Larry had nine points on 3-of-4 shooting but didn't grab a board and Martin had 11 points but uncharacteristically no assists, three turnovers, two steals.

Kevin Lisch clearly wasn't 100 per cent, playing on torn ankle ligaments which would put a regular person out of commission for four-to-six weeks.

In truth, Illawarra needed to be at its best to beat the Wildcats in a Game 3 in Perth and the Hawks were far from it.

For Perth, Jesse Wagstaff picked up his offence, Shawn Redhage made good use of his fouls and Damian Martin was as influential as ever.

In the end, it played out a bit as though the Wildcat vets were playing for a Grand Final berth and too many of the Hawks vets were content to be in a semi final decider.

SMACKING Dandenong in the last round of the regular season, SEQ will hit Stud Rd with no great qualms. Plus much of the Stars lineup has Melbourne roots.

GAME TIME: Will flirting with form last week hurt the Rangers?

Stars import Jordan Hooper is the WNBL's Player of the Month for February and now the pressure falls onto the young Rangers to prove last week was just an aberration. They should do that, but a win might just be outside their reach.

IN Townsville, the Fire also will be salivating to host the Lynx after losing on the road in Perth last week.

THE SEMI SHOWDOWN: The Fire and Lynx - tomorrow's semi winner is on to the Grand Final.

Townsville RSL Stadium has been a tough place for visitors to win although not a fortress by any stretch. Fire's Coach of the Month of February, Chris Lucas, will have his outfit primed to retain homecourt advantage through the Grand Final Series and this may be the one instance Andy Stewart's high achievers might lack big-game experience.

Or Sami Whitcomb could go off and Perth head home a winner.  That does, however, look the less likely scenario.

Last night - Game 3 (Best of 3 Semi Finals): PERTH WILDCATS 89 (Wagstaff, Beal 17, Knight, Prather 15; Knight 9 rebs; Prather, Martin 4 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 74 (Penney 18, Martin, Lisch 11,  Ellis 10; Ogilvy 11 rebs; Ogilvy, Penney 5 assts) at The Jungle, Perth Arena. Wildcats win 2-1, advance to Grand Final.