In the absence of the injured Kate Gaze, the responsibility to lead the Canberra Capitals' offence lies heavy on the shoulders of guards Lauren Mansfield and Abigail Wehrung.
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Mansfield is rated as one of the best guards in the WNBL, averaging in the top three for assists, and her defensive pressure is fierce.
But Wehrung's contribution will also be significant against their Sunday opponent Perth Lynx, who stretch defensive setups through their devastating three-point scorers Sami Whitcomb and Carley Mijovic.
The two lead the league shooting from this range.
Lynx's three-point firepower was bolstered further mid-week by the signing of American Brianna Butler, who shot 129 maximums from beyond the arc for Syracuse University in her senior year – a NCAA Division 1 record.
Capitals coach Paul Goriss will be confident they can control such threats on the defensive floor, given that Canberra's intuitive ability to switch from zone, one-on-one, and press defense has been a feature of their early season successes.
Canberra also have the benefit of playing Lynx at the end of their weekend road trip having played the Townsville Fire in Queensland on Friday, which they won.
In that game, Whitcomb (22 points) and Mijovic (20 points) were again prolific, but Wehrung said the Capitals have to respect their full roster on Sunday.
"They're their main scorers so our whole team has to be switched on to those two," Wehrung said. "But you of course can't focus completely on the two players because there's always going to be five on the court."
In a cruel twist, Canberra's win against defending champions Townsville last weekend was the first time the three guards Mansfield, Gaze and Wehrung had played together for a number of weeks, with the former playing her first game since injuring her back.
Wehrung said the challenge of playing top-of-the-table Lynx provides a chance for the Capitals to consolidate their best win of the season last weekend, which was the first of four consecutive games at Tuggeranong Stadium.
"They're a force to be reckoned with but we're all pretty excited for the challenge," she said. "We've got four home games in a row so our focus was to try and get all of them and make our run."
WNBL ROUND 8
Sunday: Canberra Capitals v Perth Lynx at Tuggeranong Stadium, 2pm
