Every week, ESPN's Megan Hustwaite brings together the stories that have caught her eye across the WNBL.
Megs' Notebook
Mum's the word for Tolo
Fresh from playing her 250th WNBL game, Marianna Tolo is taking a pregnant pause with the five-time champion expecting her first child with husband Dan in May.
The triple Olympian was unsure just a fortnight ago if she would be able to reach the milestone, and automatic WNBL life membership, but with medical guidance she listened to her body and celebrated last Sunday alongside her team and great mate Kelsey Griffin who also reached the feat.
"I feel so content. It's the perfect time to call it now, having done it safely and my body allowed me to get there in the end," Tolo told ESPN.
"When I first found out I was pregnant, I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to play and what that looked like. I was guided by my obstetrician and women's health physio who educated me about how my body would change and the considerations while playing sport - things like temperature regulation and how hormones impact the body. At the start, I honestly didn't think I'd make it to 250 but the timing was perfect.
"It was so cool to be able to share it with Kesley - one of my best friends, someone who I look up to and had the pleasure of playing and sharing championships with. It was something you'd read about in a storybook."
In the moments after the win over Perth, co-captain Tolo brought her team mates together and told them that was her last game for the season. There were tears all round.
"Normally Kelsey will speak but I just wanted to thank everyone for the time that I did get to play with them this season, say that was it and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to play with and get to know them. Then everyone started crying, it was very touching," she said.
Tolo will travel with the Spirit to Sydney for their Friday night game before returning home to Bendigo where the home crowd will celebrate her and Griffin on Sunday.
A long-time contributor to and leader of the Opals, Tolo, 36, has played and won titles all over the world but confirmed she has not retired.
"I've been around some phenomenal women who have returned to basketball after kids - Tracey Peacock at the Caps who came back after having her son Bowyn, Abby Bishop instigated a parental policy and the amazing Kelly Wilson who just last season played pregnant through the finals, with her second child, have all shown how it can be done," she said.
"The door is still open for me, I haven't decided yet whether I want to stop forever or if I want to give it another shot but I can take comfort in the fact I got the 250."
Devastation for Potter
Geelong star Gemma Potter saw her surgeon on Wednesday as she begins a third comeback trail from another treacherous ACL injury.
The 23-year-old went down during Friday night's overtime loss to Adelaide, the devastating scenes had the Venom bench in tears and broke basketball hearts across the country.
Potter said she was grateful for all the love, support and messages she'd received in recent days.
She sustained her first ACL while representing Victoria at the under-20 national championships in 2021. She produced a triumphant return for Dandenong in NBL1 South the following year but devastatingly suffered the injury, again, on the eve of quarter time in her WNBL return for Canberra in November 2022.
With the Caps in 2023-24 then as an inaugural member of the Venom WNBL team, Potter's star has continued to rise. She averaged 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals across the first eight games of the current season.
Cougars celebrate chip
The champagne will be flowing on Friday at the institutional Pete's Bar event as the Coburg team of 1985 celebrate the 40th anniversary of their championship.
After finishing the regular season in fourth place, the Cougars reached the Grand Final against Noarlunga at Albert Park Stadium and came from 11 points down at half time to win, 73-71, in an overtime epic.
Karin McRobert, nee Maar, had already represented the Opals at three World Cups and played in the early years of the league before crossing to Coburg.
Despite playing with a broken hand, she top scored with 23 points and was awarded Grand Final MVP.
McRobert, Jan Smithwick and Tammy Good added work ethic and professionalism when they joined Coburg and had an immediate impact on the team's inexperienced players.
"When you do win championships together it is a lifeline bond, you go through so much together, so much hard work but once you accomplish that and achieve the goal there is no better feeling. You're so proud of yourself and your teammates," McRobert said.
"I remember saying during that Grand Final just to just chip away. I never felt we were out of the game and once we got it back to a few points I knew we had it, it just felt like the momentum was with us."
Coburg 1985 WNBL champions: Karin McRobert, Jan Smithwick, Tammy Good, Tracey Browning, Jan Morris, Sue Pickering, Michelle O'Connor, Paula Martin, Christine Saunders
OPALS WATCH - Round 6
Steph Talbot (Lightning) 32 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals vs Venom
Isobel Borlase (Spirit) 26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals vs Lynx
Isabelle Bourne (Flyers) 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists vs Flames
Miela Sowah (Fire) 21 points, 5 rebounds vs Lightning
Courtney Woods (Fire) 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds vs Caps
Game of the week - Round 7
UC Capitals vs. Perth Lynx, Saturday November 29, 7pm, AIS Arena
Perth will unveil Chinese megastar Han Xu in the nation's capital in a fixture that will attract eyeballs from around the globe.
Xu landed in WA in the early hours of Sunday morning and met coach Ryan Petrik and her new teammates for the first time on Tuesday.
And while her star-studded addition is a drawcard on its own, the game is a must-win for both teams in contrasting ways.
The Lynx were well beaten and kept to 58 by Bendigo last round while the Caps are coming off a heavy 101-61 defeat to Townsville and at 2-5 are desperate for a win.
Fixtures
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26
Sydney Flames vs. Geelong Venom
Quaycentre, Sydney 7:30 pm (AEDT)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28
Sydney Flames vs. Bendigo Spirit
Quaycentre, 7:30 pm (AEDT)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29
UC Capitals vs. Perth Lynx
AIS Arena, 5:00 pm (AEDT)
Townsville Fire vs. Southside Melbourne Flyers
Townsville Entertainment Centre, 7:00 pm (AEDT)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Bendigo Spirit vs. Adelaide Lightning
Red Energy Arena, 12:30 pm (AEDT)
Watch every game LIVE on Disney+
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