WNBL legend Lauren Jackson has made an emotional homecoming to Canberra to help guide the Southside Flyers to an emphatic 92-72 victory over the UC Capitals - the club where she won four championships and four grand final MVPs as their marquee player.
With a large crowd filling Canberra's National Convention Centre to mark Jackson's return to the nation's capital, the 41-year-old opened proceedings with a three-pointer before going on to add 13 points and five rebounds as the Flyers recorded their fifth win of the season.
The Flyers had too much class for the Capitals despite the absence of Abby Bishop and Aimie Rocci - Sara Blicavs, Kayla Thornton and Nyadiew Puoch each contributing 16 points with six players scoring in double figures.
Bendigo kicked off round six on Wednesday night by defeating Sydney Flames 85-75 at Red Energy Arena to extend their unbeaten start to the season at seven games, captain Kelsey Griffin again leading from the front with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Sydney trailed by nine points at halftime with coach Shane Heal ejected after picking up two technical fouls then managed to cut Bendigo's lead to 72-70 with less than four minutes to play but Griffin fought through an ankle problem to score a pair of crucial baskets to secure the win for the Spirit.
After falling short against Bendigo, the Flames hosted the Melbourne Boomers at their new home in Sydney's Quaycentre on Friday night and gave themselves a big opportunity to score their second win of the campaign by jumping out to a 34-20 lead.
But the second-placed Boomers rallied behind the steady play of Mia Murray (15 points) and Cayla George (10 points, 15 rebounds) to chalk up their fifth win in a row, thwarting the efforts of Sydney's Keely Froling (20 points, 13 rebounds) with a 73-63 victory.
Melbourne completed a road double on Sunday with an impressive 89-64 win over the Adelaide Lightning at Adelaide 36ers Arena, Kristy Wallace and Olivia Nelson-Ododa pacing the Boomers with 20 points apiece.
Boomers star Tiffany Mitchell missed the clash with Adelaide after flying back to Melbourne for scans on a wrist injury sustained in Friday's win in Sydney.
Third-placed Townsville Fire made it back-to-back wins on Saturday night after knocking off Perth Lynx 98-85 at Townsville Entertainment Centre to stay in touch with league pacesetters Bendigo and Melbourne.
The Fire absorbed an early three-point barrage from Perth to build a 51-44 advantage at the main break then outscored the Lynx 24-12 in the third quarter to take control of the contest.
Townsville's Stephanie Reid set a new career high with a 27-point haul, to go with nine assists and six rebounds, while Tianna Hawkins added 20 points and 15 rebounds.
