When the Hawks required it most, Coenraad put in his best performance of the season to help Illawarra to a determined 89-85 victory at Perth Arena.

Playing in a starting role in the place of injured import Marvelle Harris, the 31-year-old poured in 18 points (7/11 attempts), including four clutch threes, and grabbed four rebounds.

It was the third time in his part four matches that Coenraad had chalked up double digit scoring.

"Timmy has been playing really well in the last few games in particular," Hawks coach Rob Beveridge said.

"When Harris went down early in the game, Timmy stepped up.

"He did that again [against the Wildcats]. He came on with no fear and that's what we need him to do. He is a microwave player, that's his role is to shoot the ball when he is open."

After starting the season slowly, Coenraad has averaged 11.8 point per game in his past four contests while playing mainly in a bench role.

His performances will give Beveridge a welcome selection headache when Harris is set to return on Friday against New Zealand.