Every week, ESPN's Megan Hustwaite brings together news stories that have caught her eye across the WNBL.
KG23 BACK IN RD 4?
The good news keeps coming for the WNBL's only undefeated team who could regain one of their biggest stars this week.
Bendigo Spirit sits pretty at the top of the ladder with a 5-0 record, after a successful road trip to Sydney and Townsville last round and might welcome superstar Kelsey Griffin into the line-up for Sunday's tantalising clash with the Southside Flyers in Ballarat.
The four-time champion, three-time Grand Final MVP and 2018-19 Suzy Batkovic Medallist fractured her shooting hand when she tried to steal a ball during practice just days out from Round 1 and will see a specialist this week to determine her return to play.
"I started shooting with my right-hand last Thursday and dribbling and passing and all that, I'm progressing as tolerated," Griffin told ESPN.
"Appointments this week will inform what my weekend and next week look like - there could be a weekend."
Griffin has loved what she's seen from her new-look team as she's watched on from the sidelines and has also been busy hosting her weekly radio show Saturdays in Bendigo via SEN.
KIZER DEPARTS
Less than 24 hours after their emphatic overtime win over Adelaide, Geelong United announced that import Lynetta Kizer had departed the WNBL's newest club.
Via a statement on Sunday afternoon, United said club and player had parted ways mutually due to personal reasons. Kizer had 6 points and 4 rebounds in her only WNBL appearance, Geelong's inaugural game, a loss to Townsville, in Round 1.
The 34-year-old centre played eight seasons in the WNBA, for Tulsa Shock, Indiana Fever, Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx, after being selected in the 2012 draft.
ESPN believes Geelong will take some time to assess its options before deciding whether to replace Kizer.
DALLAS DIALS IT UP
In a season where the league is younger than ever, emerging Aussie stars are stepping up and grasping increased opportunity with both hands in the opening weeks of #WNBL25.
On Sunday, it was 20-year-old Southside point guard Dallas Loughridge who two years ago, in what was meant to be her rookie season, ruptured her ACL in the final pre-season fixture.
Her rehab was documented in a mini-series for Basketball Australia's She Hoops and on return to the court Loughridge was part of the Flyers championship last season but was behind dual Olympian Leilani Mitchell and Maddy Rocci when it came to the guard rotation.
On Sunday, she scored a career-high 16 points off the bench in her team's win over Canberra.
New Flyers coach Kristi Harrower, one of Australia's greatest ever point guards, was full of praise for her young star.
"She didn't play much last year, has been training well and brings a steady head for us, a bit of poise," Harrower said post-game.
"Dallas is someone who can shoot the three for us but then also break down the defence and in a way she does it with ease because she has so much variation to what she does when she gets into the paint.
"She's only still young and if she can continue to play the way she did today she'd going to be putting her hand up for more minutes and that's what you want to do as a player - put the coach under pressure."
MAGNIFICENT MIC
Triple WNBL champion Micaela Cocks has spoken about the emotion she was overcome with as Townsville Fire retired her famous No.32 guernsey at the weekend.
The New Zealand-born guard, who represented her country on the international stage for 17 years, debuted with the Fire in 2011 and was an integral piece of their championship puzzle in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18 and earned the Rachael Sporn Medal for Grand Final MVP in 2015.
After welcoming her first child Hazel in 2020, during the pandemic-affected WNBL hub season, the 38-year-old returned for what would be her final season in 2021-22.
Her jersey now hangs from the rafters alongside fellow champions Suzy Batkovic, Rachael McCully (nee Flanagan) and Mia Murray (nee Newley).
"I felt more emotional than I thought I'd be, I've kind of blocked out accolades during my career because you just want to play and win but this was different. I feel really grateful, I tried to embrace it," she said.
"When it was unveiled, seeing the names I was next to, not only great teammates but awesome people and some of my best friends, was what made it really special.
"I spent 10/11 years there, Townsville was a huge part of my life."