A monumental rebounding performance from veteran Rachael Sporn helped drag Adelaide back into the top four of the women's National Basketball League.

Sporn, who holds the WNBL single game record of 27 boards, dragged down 22 rebounds as the Lightning overcame an 11-point quartertime deficit to score a 71-61 home win over Bulleen.

Laura Summerton top-scored for Adelaide with 18, while Sporn added 16 points on eight from 14 field goal shooting and pulled in more offensive rebounds (10) than the entire Bulleen team.

The result lifted Adelaide to seven wins and six losses, the same as Dandenong, but the South Australian team moved into fourth above the Rangers who had the round off.

While the Canberra men's team endured a traumatic week after going into voluntary administration, the Capitals WNBL side went a long way towards securing a top-two spot.

Canberra (10-4) started the round with the same record as Sydney (10-5), but climbed above the Flames beating them 80-65 at Tuggeranong on Friday night.

A typically dominant performance from Opals centre Lauren Jackson provided the spark for the Capitals as she logged 22 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

Guard Kristen Veal chipped in with 19 points and nine assists to help Canberra achieve a vital 2-1 split in their series against Sydney.

The Flames bounced back at Homebush, defeating last-placed Australian Institute of Sport (4-12).

Forward Belinda Snell piled up 27 points, more than double any of her colleagues as Sydney recovered from a six-point quartertime deficit.

The Flames, who had never lost to the AIS in Sydney in 17 previous games, outscored the students 31-15 in the third quarter.

It completed a miserable round for the AIS which tumbled 90-74 away to competition leader Townsville (12-3) on Friday.

The Fire stretched its perfect home record to seven wins with five players scoring 14 points or more for Townsville.

Bulleen (4-12) also had a fruitless road trip this week as its loss to Adelaide was preceded by a 67-66 defeat at Perth (4-10) on Friday.

The Boomers, who had won their four previous games against Perth, led the Lynx by two points at the last change, but scored only 10 points in the final quarter.

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