Lauren Jackson has saved the best game of her Opals comeback for last, starring for Australia as they clinched World Cup bronze with a 95-65 defeat of Canada.

Jackson confirmed just hours before tip-off at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena her Opals comeback would conclude after the World Cup, where she played in all eight games following an absence of nine years from the national team.

A second-half rampage left Jackson with 30 points – the second-highest tally for anyone in a single game this tournament and the second-highest by anyone in World Cup medal match – and confirmed a fairytale finish for the Australian great.

“This journey has been the most humbling and most incredible 10 months of my life,” Jackson said.

“It’s given me an opportunity to play the sport I love in front of Australians again. To say goodbye this way, I couldn’t have imagined it.”

Coach Sandy Brondello had alluded to the fact Australia’s bench would play a big role in the bronze-medal contest, which took place just 16 hours after their semi-final defeat.

But even the coach could not have been able to foresee just how pivotal her 41-year-old former teammate would be.

“Who scores 30 points in a game?” Brondello asked reporters.

“Lauren changed the game with her presence inside.”

Jackson’s first points, a jump shot, sparked an 8-0 run that helped the home side quash Canada’s early dominance.

Across the board, Australia shook off the shooting woes that thwarted them in the tight loss to China.

The Opals’ best player across the World Cup, Steph Talbot, was the chief architect as the home side maintained their lead in the second quarter.

Talbot had 11 points for the period, including a clutch three-pointer in the final seconds, to go with some trademark defensive efforts as the Australians took an eight-point lead into the main change.

Kia Nurse contributed almost half of Canada’s first-half points (19 of 43) with a versatile shooting display that made it easy to forget the World Cup had marked her return from an 11-month ACL injury lay-off.

The majority of Australia’s best players were coming off big minutes on Friday night so they found a hero in their greatest player of all time, who only made a cameo against China.

Jackson’s points this tournament have come almost exclusively from beyond the arc.

But in the third quarter, she came alive in the paint and finished the third quarter with 13 points as Australia stretched out to what was ultimately a game-winning lead.

Her seven rebounds and twosteals were personal bests for the tournament and when she kept her hot form up in the final term, the Australians were home.

Jackson’s surge coincided with a downturn in Nurse’s form. The Canadian failed to score after halftime and with their biggest strike weapon neutralised, the North Americans were never a threat to pull off a late comeback.

“It’s a tough way to end the tournament but there are building blocks,” Nurse said.

“We know no one thought we were going to make it out of our pool and here we are.

“I’m proud of what we’ve been able to be able to accomplish.”

Jackson left the court to a standing ovation in the final minutes and the greatest international basketball career Australia has ever seen officially came to an end – again.