Every week, ESPN's Megan Hustwaite brings together news stories that have caught her eye across the WNBL.
Elite Ellis
Fresh from her induction to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, basketball legend Michele Timms has sung the praises of Townsville rookie Abbey Ellis.
The 23-year-old point guard, who graduated from US college outfit Purdue Boilermakers this year, started for Townsville on WNBL debut in their opening-round win over Geelong.
Timms is no stranger to Ellis' potential having coached her at under-12 and under-18 level at Bulleen.
"Abbey Ellis wasn't a rookie in any form or fashion, she came out and looked like she belonged straight away," Timms told ESPN.
"She didn't take a step back, provided fantastic penetration, got her feet in the paint whenever she wanted, she was great.
"The thing I like about Abbey is her pathway was different. She missed Australian junior selection, she went to college and has come back a hell of a baller.
"I'd mentioned her to a few (WNBL) coaches and no bites, and I was so glad when I found out she went to Townsville under Shannon (four-time coach of the year Shannon Seebohm) because that's the best place for her to develop.
"I spoke to him after the game, and he said he's really happy to have her."
Stars wings clipped
Paris Olympic medallist Amy Atwell headlined a handful of the WNBL's biggest names who missed Round 1 through injury.
The explosive scorer is set to miss ESPN's highly-anticipated game of the week against Townsville on Wednesday night as she recovers from a knee injury.
Triple Olympian Steph Talbot is hopeful a calf niggle won't keep her out of Adelaide's first home game of the season this Saturday night against Perth while a broken finger, courtesy of a Marianna Tolo training mishap, is expected to sideline Kelsey Griffin a little longer.
New faces
Eleven new imports stepped onto Australian courts for the first time in Round 1 with Japreese Dean announcing herself in a sparkling debut for Adelaide Lighting.
The 28-year-old guard led Adelaide's scoring with 23 points (10 of 16 from the field) in addition to four boards, four assists and three steals in the Lighting's loss to championship fancy Bendigo.
Dean also attracted the praise of reining Suzy Batkovic Medallist, WNBA star and former UCLA teammate Jordin Canada on social media.
Bendigo's boom import Veronica Burton (eight rebounds, seven assists, six points) showed some promising signs as she combined with Sami Whitcomb in an on-court partnership that has frightening potential.
Townsville's Americans Lauren Cox (12 points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks, two steals) and Zia Cooke (15 points off the bench) were both influential in the Fire's thrashing of United.
While Celeste Taylor, who played for Phoenix Mercury in the recently completed WNBA season, did some nice things in Sydney's first opening-round win in eight seasons.
And there was plenty to like about Aussies Hannah Hank (nine points, six rebounds) and Manuella Puoch (five points in six minutes) who provided value from their first WNBL minutes off the bench for Geelong and Southside respectively.
Flying the flag
Geelong United recruit Daniel Raber will miss the next three WNBL games as she represents Israel.
The 27-year-old forward will play for her nation in the Euro Cup 2025 qualifiers in Latvia where Israel is grouped in Pool E alongside the host nation, Ireland and France.
Fresh off a strong season with Cockburn Cougars in NBL1 West, Raber, who also holds a New Zealand passport and therefore is considered a local WNBL player, made her WNBL debut in Geelong's league debut last week where she teamed five points with three rebounds and three assists off the bench.