Sarah Coyte shine again as Sixers edge Melbourne Stars in one-run thriller

Ellyse Perry has scored an unbeaten century, and Sarah Coyte bowled a masterful final over to help the Sydney Sixers beat the Melbourne Stars by one run in the WBBL.

Perry took the Sixers to 5-160 in the match on Friday night at Junction Oval with a score of 84 not out off 57 balls, just three days after celebrating her 36th birthday.

With the home team needing 11 runs from the final 10 balls and four wickets in hand, Dani Gibson (31 off 20 balls) and Georgia Prestwidge (21 off 13) gave the Stars a great chance to win in response.

That equation became eight runs needed off the final over - with Coyte given the responsibility with the ball.

The nerves were jangling for the Stars when Gibson was caught in the deep, leaving them needing seven runs off four balls.

Coyte's tight bowling made it four runs needed off the final ball, even though she missed a chance to run out Kim Garth shortly after.

With the game on the line, Prestwidge could only squeeze the final delivery weakly through the onside for two, with Perry fielding the ball and running it back in to ensure there would be no risk of overthrows.

The result left the Sixers with a perfect 3-0 record, while the Stars are struggling at 1-3.

"It's nice to get on a roll, but the key thing is to keep improving," Perry said.

"We played some good cricket tonight, but there were also a few things that were rusty in there.

"It's really nice to win those close ones, but we've got improvement in us."

For Coyte, her final over marked her second match-winning display at the death this season.

A week earlier, Coyte scored a boundary off the final ball to help the Sixers defeat the Brisbane Heat by four wickets in the final ball.

Coyte's final figures on Friday night didn't jump off the page: 1-27 off three overs.

But her ability to take 1-6 in the clutch final over was huge, leaving the Stars stranded at 7-159 and scratching their heads at the one that got away.

Lauren Cheatle, a pace bowler for the Sixers, said on the broadcast, "Sarah Coyte with the ball in hand is really calm and collected at the top of her mark, and she executed perfectly."