Sunshine Coast Lightning advance to Super Netball semis with win over Melbourne Vixens

The Sunshine Coast Lightning have secured their place in the Super Netball play-offs with a 56-51 victory over the Melbourne Vixens.

After an 0-3 start to their premiership defence, the Lightning stormed home to win five of their past six matches and on Sunday eliminated the Vixens from the semi-final race.

"It wasn't pretty today but it was important that we got the right amount of points that put us through to finals," Lightning captain Geva Mentor said.

With shooter Caitlin Bassett (41/47) in ominous form at Hisense Arena, the Lightning ended the regular season in fourth spot and will face the third-placed Firebirds in an all-Queensland minor semi-final next Sunday.

Needing to make up a six-point margin on the ladder, the Vixens grabbed the first bonus point but the Lightning produced a 16-9 second quarter to swing the momentum.

The visitors then opened the third term with five unanswered goals to take control of the match.

"We wanted the win and we wanted the points to get through to finals," Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said.

"It's an end of the season and that's always disappointing when it finishes earlier than you want it to."

The Giants claimed the minor premiership following Saturday's 69-66 win over the West Coast Fever. The sides will meet again in Sydney next Saturday in the major semi-final.

The Vixens were rocked before Sunday's encounter when leading scorer Mwai Kumwenda was ruled out following a knee injury in last week's loss to the Fever.

Former Vixen Kim Commane (31/33) was called up to fill the vacancy at goal shooter and combined well early with Tegan Philip (20/24) before the Lightning gained the ascendancy.

The Vixens conceded the opening two goals of the match but recovered to lead by three with 90 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Lightning came close to denying the Vixens a vital bonus point after scoring two quick goals but Kadie-Ann Dehaney's late deflection secured the home side's 15-14 lead at the first change.

But the defending champions lifted in the second quarter as Geva Mentor and Karla Pretorius made life difficult for the Vixens' attackers, while Bassett piled on 11 goals to establish a 30-24 advantage at halftime.

Needing one more bonus point to ensure a top-four finish, the Lightning opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run and the Vixens couldn't claw back the goals required to stay alive in the competition.