Every week, ESPN's Megan Hustwaite brings together the stories that have caught her eye across the WNBL.
Megs' Notebook
Jess Bibby has described Cayla George as a living legend as the four-time WNBL champ surpasses her on the all-time games played list this weekend.
Bibby's 394 games, reached in 2016, sits behind Kelly Wilson's 478, but triple Olympian George will move into outright second when her Southside Flyers play Townsville in game one of their semifinal series on Sunday.
"I could not be happier than Cayla's popped me to the bronze medal on the podium," Bibby said.
"I remember her as a dominant kid coming through who went on to have a wonderful career and just shines wherever she goes."
The 36-year-old centre followed what was once the traditional pathway of playing for the AIS WNBL team while on a scholarship in Canberra.
Her career took her to Adelaide, Logan, Townsville, Melbourne, Sydney and back to Melbourne this season. She won three championships with the Fire (2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18), another at the Boomers (2021-22) and in 2022-23 was crowned the Suzy Batkovic Medallist for league MVP.
"It's a lot of games and just proof of dedication, work ethic, love for the game and how she's had the ability to play different roles on different teams and thrive in so many different environments," Bibby added.
"What a living legend, not just a good person but Cayla makes everyone on her team stand a little taller and enjoy the game."
Rees finals ready
With an impressive rookie regular season under her belt, Kelsey Rees is preparing for her first WNBL final and one of the biggest match-ups in the league.
The 23-year-old will go head-to-head with Perth's Chinese superstar Han Xu for a third time when Bendigo and the Lynx meet in the opening game of their semi-final series on Saturday afternoon.
"I've really enjoyed the match-up, it's been a lot of fun to learn, try different things and watch how other people have played Han and see what I can take into my game.
"I try to be physical early, get under people's skin in different ways and use my strengths. I'm not always the strongest or fastest on the court so finding my strength against each individual person and using that has been exciting.
"Kennedy (coach Kennedy Kereama) having trusted me to go against Han, (Marianna) Tolo giving me advice having played against her internationally and Kelsey Griffin and Olivia Pollerd on the court, being able to roam a bit more and provide that help when needed."
Rees' parents Nicole and Paul played a stack of finals during their respective WNBL and NBL careers and will be watching from home in Adelaide with Rees dedicating her campaign to her maternal grandfather Vic who died before the season.
"This season has been for him. One of the quotes he'd always give me when he came to watch my tournaments was 'Put some ants in your shoes' so that's the plan for finals," Rees said.
Search for a Jewel
There was championship calibre oozing from the second-round interviewees for the newest job in the WNBL, head coach of the Tasmania Jewels.
WNBL Weekly believes three championship coaches, from the past decade, progressed through the first round and showcased themselves to a panel featuring assistant general manager Kayla Steindl, Jack Jumpers chief operating officer Darren Smith and FIBA Hall of Fame member Jan Stirling.
The club is set to unveil its inaugural mentor in the next few weeks.
Honour for Cosier
Among those recognised at this week's Suzy Batkovic Medal was a well deserving new life member in Michelle Cosier.
Cosier, nee Musselwhite, played 240 WNBL games for the Rangers, Flames and Caps, winning a title with the Caps in 2008-09, but fell just short of the 250 required for automatic life membership.
The mother of two then picked up the whistle and in December notched her 50th game. This week's honour is worthy recognition for her contribution to the game in both roles.
OPALS WATCH -- The Opals who shone in Round 17
Isabelle Bourne (Flyers) -- 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Amy Atwell (Lynx) -- 22 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Isobel Borlase (Spirit) -- 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists,
Cayla George (Flyers) -- 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists, 1 steal
Steph Talbot (Lightning) -- 15 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals vs. Southside
Semifinal previews
Two-time coach of the year and 2021-22 title-winning coach Guy Molloy analyses Game 1 of the Semifinals:
Perth Lynx vs. Bendigo Spirit
Saturday February 14, RAC Arena, 1pm local time (4pm AEDT)
"Having home-court advantage is significant. It's a really intriguing battle of styles which you want finals to be. Perth has this great ability to turn it on and beat any team in this top four on their night at any time. I think what comes with that is Perth give you the opportunity to beat them because as much as they can turn it on they can turn it off. It's often a trait of some really good teams and I can remember back in my NBL days the great Melbourne Tigers teams were also viewed in a similar way, they could beat anybody but they'd give you plenty of chances to beat them.
"Bendigo play hard and they will need to execute well, keep the effort levels high with the point of view of making sure they're in every contest and every play and not to lose their way mentally if Perth go on a good run. Perth can blow you out at any point but you've got to forget about that if you're Bendigo make every possession and quarter count and then put that scoreboard pressure on Perth because even though the home court (advantage) is good it also creates a little bit of pressure that you do need to win at home."
Townsville Fire vs. Southside Melbourne Flyers
Sunday February 15, Townsville Entertainment Centre, 3pm local time (4pm AEDT)
"Townsville rarely beat themselves, they are a systematic, well-drilled team and are almost like the Bjorn Borg of tennis, they keep hitting the ball back over the net and letting the other team make errors. Shannon (Seebohm) coaches them very well that way so your concentration and effort level playing against them has to stay at a good pitch. Most teams can't sustain the concentration for the 40 minutes when they play against Townsville, they might have a good quarter or two but fail at some point and a couple of momentum runs go against them.
"The Flyers have got talent, have beaten Townsville, they've got scoring bigs that can cause damage inside, definitely an important factor to play against Townsville, and with Issie Bourne and Cayla George they're able to generate some good stuff there.
"The big thing for me with the Flyers, is their level of focus, concentration and discipline. They've got to be ready to play, they have to be switched on, if things go against them they can't get their heads down, they've got to keep playing and following the game plan.
"I think if they do that really well it could be a tight series because there's plenty of experience in the Flyers roster, some great match-ups at both ends of the floor, point guards going against each other but to me, a lot of this series you know what you're going to get mentally and concentration wise from Townsville, you just don't know with the Flyers."
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