The Fever were fined and docked 12 premiership points during the off-season for salary cap breaches in 2017 and 2018.

Many argued that the punishment was too soft, a view that may gather momentum now that coach Stacey Marinkovich's outfit has built title-winning momentum after three rounds.

Success against the lowly Adelaide Thunderbirds next Saturday could propel the Fever into the top four.

West Coast recovered from first quarter stagefright at USC Stadium to dominate the rest of the contest.

Captain Courtney Bruce was in another stratosphere after silencing Diamonds teammate, Lightning shooter Cara Koenen (28 goals) on her way to seven gains, which included five intercepts.

It was Bruce's determination that gave inspiration to the Fever after Sunshine Coast's Steph Wood (16 goals) threatened to take control in the first term.

And there was attacking polish, too, with Jhaniele Fowler's 59 goals combining with a confident cameo off the bench from attacker Sasha Glasgow who scored seven goals, including a pair of two-point super goals.

Player-of-the-match Bruce said it was a relief to know they can now push for the competition top four after recovering from the first quarter blip against the Lightning.

"We weren't playing to our standards and Stacey went back at quarter-time and said, 'we know what to do, get out there and pull your fingers out'," she said.

"I wanted to contest a bit more cleanly and I think all my intercepts came from the hard work Stacey (Francis) and Jess (Anstiss) did out the front."

In what was virtually a top-of-the-table duel, there were just a few constants in a wildly fluctuating first half.

Sunshine Coast midcourter Laura Scherian and defender Maddy McAuliffe had stunning impact at opposite ends of the court as the home side squeezed the life out of the Fever on their way to a 10-goal first-quarter lead.

Fowler gave West Coast hope with a flawless 26-goal shooting performance that launched her side into the lead at halftime.

From there, they never let go, with centre Verity Charles running the home side ragged.

Australian Associated Press