Marianna Tolo's 38 points inspired the Canberra Capitals to an 89-80 win over the Sydney Flames on Sunday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Olympian also collected 12 rebounds to complete her second straight double-double, and shot 13 of 19 from the field as the Capitals extended their win-loss record to 2-1 at Brydens Stadium in Sydney.
Coach Paul Goriss said Tolo was excelling as the team's focal point after being restricted as a role player for the Opals and leagues overseas.
"We're asking a different role of her for us," he said.
"She's got to be a scorer, she's got to be a focal point and she's doing the work every day to keep adding to her game. You can see her confidence sky-rocketing within herself and within the team."
The Capitals' big three of Tolo, Lauren Mansfield and Jazmon Gwathmey scored 67 of the team's 89 points, but Goriss said the whole team executed the game plan.
"The pleasing thing was we had 25 assists, and if we share the ball like that in every game then we're going to be hard to guard," he said.
"Our offence has got to come from our defence and there was times where we were really switched on with our defence and we got into transition with swift ball movement."
Opals point guard Leilani Mitchell led the Flames for points, rebounds and assists at the main break and helped construct Sydney's early lead.
Mitchell top-scored for the Flames with 20 points, as well as nine rebounds and nine assists, while the Capitals' Mikaela Ruef again imposed herself with a game-high 14 rebounds.
Tolo said she enjoyed topping the score sheet but credited her teammates for creating the opportunities.
"The girls did a really good job of passing it inside to me tonight and I changed my focus to really attack and try and get to the line," she said.
"It worked tonight but I know that everyone else can contribute at times and that's what makes us so tough to guard."
"I think this win was huge for us. They're (Flames) going to be a tough team towards the end of the season.
"We've just got to keep this momentum going and keep getting better each time we play."
WNBL ROUND 2
CANBERRA CAPITALS 89 (M Tolo 38, L Mansfield 15, J Gwathmey 14 points; M Ruef 14, M Tolo 12 rebounds) bt SYDNEY FLAMES 80 (L Mitchell 20, A Taylor 16, B Snell 15 points; J Hamson 10, L Mitchell 9 rebounds; L Mitchell 9 assists).
