Basketball On The Internet.

IT IS a total fallacy to call any result from the first round of a new season "an upset". After all, which teams are established and which teams aren't? Frankly, it's ridiculous. But wow, what an upset Perth caused over Sydney, and Melbourne over Southside to open the WNBL season.

OK. So that's a contradiction. Well that's why second paragraphs were invented - to contradict the first.

Because when you examine the relative budgets of a club such as Sydney, compared to Perth ... then the Lynx beating the Flames, and comprehensivey, can only be viewed as, at the very least, something of a surprise.

And when a team as talent-rich as Southside Flyers, with an Opals Olympic coaching staff member as their head coach and laden with superstars such as Lauren Jackson and Mercedes Russell - with Carley Ernst, the WNBL's first ever Triple Towers - the expectation would have to be for a win over their less fashionable crosstown rival.

This is why we love sport!

We already knew the Boomers would be solid, as their win over Adelaide Lightning in Adelaide showed to launch the season.

But Anneli Maley snaring 21 rebounds in her Lynx debut - Sydney Flames as a group had 43 - and Perth ahead from go-to-whoa meant this was actually fairly one-sided.

Who would have guessed?

Lauren Nicholson had 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting to be the only Flames starter scoring in double digits.

Aari McDonald led Perth with 18 points, Maley 15 and Amy Atwell 13, the Lynx defence containing Sydney to 36 per cent shooting.

PERTH LYNX 85 (McDonald 18, Maley 15, Atwell 13, Goodchild, Gorman 11; Maley 21 rebs; McDonald 6 assts) d SYDNEY FLAMES 71 (Nicholson 17, Clarke, McSpadden 10; George 8 rebs; George 5 assts) at Bendat Stadium.Crowd: 1,011

IT is long overdue and consistently interrupted by injury, but now get ready for some Zitina Aokuso highlights packages, the stellar pivot leading Townsville with 20 points at 78 per cent in the road win at Bendigo.

Z is for Zitina in 2023-24.

Aokuso will share the spotlght with an All-Star Five calibre Fire starting quintet, occasional Opals captain Sami Whitcomb, boards beast Mikaela Ruef, Alice Kunek and Steph Reid rounding out a team the Spirit worked hard to contain but did not have the (wo)manpower to beat.

Kelsey Griffin's absence was significant, Bendigo's 21 turnovers offsetting its 39-28 boards mastery. But this Spirit team will not be far off it this season either. 

TOWNSVILLE FIRE 93 (Aokuso 20, Whitcomb 18, Ruef 16, Kunek 15, Reid 13; Kunek 6 rebs; Reid 5 assts) d BENDIGO SPIRIT 80 (Kraker 16, Froling 15, Davis 12, Samuels, A.Wilson 10; A.Wilson 6 rebs; K.Wilson, Wehrung 5 assts) at Bendigo Stadium. Crowd: 588

BOOM Melbourne import Jordin Canada tickled a triple-double with 15 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds (and two steals) as Melbourne turned back an early 0-9 deficit to Southside to storm to a statement derby victory.

Bec Cole (25 points) and Mercedes Russell got Southside off to a flyer but Melbourne had it reeled in by quarter-time, then Canada uncorked a sizzling second period as the Boomers ran up a 24-8 quarter.

Canada's passing was as mesmerising as her general quickness and courtplay, a 17-0 outburst building the Boomers' lead to 20 points before Southside rallied.

Canada fouled out but Tera Reed (18 and 6) and Naz Hillmon (14 and 11) were instrumental when the hot favourites closed to within three early in a torrid final quarter.     

Melbourne's win was especially rewarding, the Boomers still down Kristy Wallace, Mon Conti and Aimee Rocci.   

MELBOURNE BOOMERS 77 (Reed 18, Canada 15, Hillmon 14; Hillmon, Froling 11 rebs; Canada 10 assts) d SOUTHSIDE FLYERS 70 (Cole 25, Russell 15, Rocci 11; Russell 9 rebs; Rocci 7 assts) at State Basketball Centre. Crowd: 3,198

IN Canberra, the first round concluded with Lightning escaping unscathed after almost surrendering a hard-won 17 point buffer and 58-43 halftime lead.

Izzy Borlase was instrumental offensively and Brianna Turner had 15 rebounds to pace Adelaide.

But when Jade Melbourne (13 points, 11 assists), Alex Sharp (21 points, 19 rebounds) and Alex Fowler (19 points, 6 rebounds) rallied, Canberra began the long haul back.

A no-look Melbourne pass on a fast break was the third quarter's highlight moment before Izzy Bourne lit up from outside  the arc to give Adelaide breathing space.

Canberra came home strongly, had the deficit back to two inside the final two minutes, before Sharp tied it at 79-79 with 1:15 left.

Bourne's 3-point bank shot created the final scoreline but Adelaide then had no idea how to execute a last play and turned the ball over with 6.7 seconds left.

Fowler might have been the right option but Canberra instead fell short as Adelaide scooped up the ball and the W.  

ADELAIDE LIGHTNING 82 (Bourne, Borlase 20, Willoughby 15, Turner 12; Turner 15 rebs; Mansfield 5 assts) d UNI of CANBERRA CAPITALS 79 (Sharp 21, Fowler 19, Melbourne 13, Potter 11; Sharp 19 rebs; Melbourne 11 assts) at National Convention Centre. Crowd: 1,702