CRICKET-AUS/WIS-LEAD Outstanding Matthews unable to prevent WI series defeat (includes quotes).

Captain Hayley Matthews sparkled again with another Player-of-the-Match half-century but it came in a losing cause as West Indies Women went down to Australia Women by 47 runs, to surrender their three-match Twenty20 International series 2-1 here Thursday.

Needing a win to clinch a historic series success at Allan Border Field, the Caribbean side fell short of their target of 191, dismissed for 143 off the penultimate ball of the run chase.

Matthews stood tall with a stunning 40-ball 79 at the top of the order, her third straight score of fifty or more following her unbeaten 99 in the opener and her magnificent 132 in the second T20I which led West Indies Women to a series-levelling seven-wicket win.

The 25-year-old swept every Player-of-the-Match award in the series and was predictably named Player-of-the-Series.

Aaliyah Alleyne struck 26 from 23 balls but seamer Darcie Brown (3-20) and off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner (3-32) snatched three wickets apiece while new-ball pacer Kim Garth (2-24) grabbed a brace of wickets to hurt the chase. At one stage, the visitors were 97 without loss but once Matthews became the first wicket to fall in the 11th over, the innings fell apart thereafter as ten wickets tumbled for 46 runs.

'I knew for sure we were in with a shot and that's what I was gunning for, hence the fact I was trying to be pretty aggressive,' Matthews said.

'But unfortunately Darcie Brown kind of outsmarted me with that slower ball, getting me to hit in the air and I guess it (chase) didn't go to plan after that.

'I think I was getting some boundaries pretty quickly, I think the momentum was definitely on our side at that point in time but the wicket kind of changed things a lot.'

Tahlia McGrath had earlier top-scored with 65 from 34 deliveries as the hosts gathered a...