Lauren Nicholson could argue she won the war on Saturday amid the friendly barbs in the first of the coming grudge matches between Launceston teammates.
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But the expected fight against fellow Torns Lauren Mansfield and Ellie Collins had proved futile in Adelaide Lightning’s 78-66 victory over home side Perth Lynx.
Mansfield withdrew on the eve of the opening WNBL clash after failing to pull up fit from an ongoing foot injury that kept the point guard out of the Opals silver-medal winning World Cup side.
The Tornadoes skipper was spotted many times giving advice to teammates during timeouts in the game.
Collins, on the other hand, only earned 73 seconds of court time in her WNBL debut for the Lynx and officially the 20-year-old did not register a statistic.
But Nicholson played a pivotal role in the Lightning’s win on the road.
The SEABL women MVP this year scored 15 points, pulled down five rebounds and had two assists in the strong 12-point win.
Ally Wilson had an impact for the Sydney Uni Flames, but not enough to stop Canberra Capitals win 97-78.
Wilson put up 10 points, two rebounds and four assists against the early-season competition favourites.
Homegrown Launceston talent Tayla Roberts will turn out for Dandenong Rangers in the side’s opener against Townsville Fire on Sunday amid a busy summer that will include an AFLW season with the new North Melbourne-Tassie Kangaroos.