Canberra Capitals end Southside Flyers dream start with 19-point thrashing

The Capitals claimed their first win on the road with a 19-point thrashing of the hosts at Dandenong Stadium on Thursday night.

The Flyers flew to an undefeated start with six straight victories but the defending champions sent an emphatic message to the league's ladder-leaders in five round five.

Canberra couldn't be contained as they surged to a 91-72 win inspired by a 41-point combination of Kia Nurse and Keely Froling.

There was Kelsey Griffin throwing backwards passes. There was Marianna Tolo dominating under the post. Gemma Potter became a human shield in defence. Nurse hit three after three.

But it's not the depth of the team that impresses coach Paul Goriss most - it's the relentless work ethic.

"The dominance in the rebounding count with Kelsey, Tolo, Keely and [Olivia Epoupa] really set the tone of the game and gave us possession," Goriss said.

"The front line plus [Olivia] did an excellent job on the glass because our rebounds were 48-31 and we have 21 second chance points which comes off the back of their hard work to be relentless.

"It's the depth of the team and the work ethic of those individuals. It's a never say die attitude."

Canberra took 83 field goal attempts to the Flyers' 53. They dominated with 48 rebounds, 22 assists, 10 steals, 25 points from turnovers and 48 points in the paint.

Goriss wanted his side to set the tone defensively and bid farewell to their slow starts in the opening rounds of the season. He wanted the Capitals to scheme, lock in their defence and shut down Leilani Mitchell. And so they did.

The Capitals crushed the usually free-flowing Flyers and held a 20-point lead by the second term and denied the hosts any opportunity to claw their way back into the game.

Former Capitals championship-winner Mitchell led the scoring charts with 23 points but the attacking combination of Nurse, Froling, Tolo and Griffin left the visitors with multiple shooting opportunities.

"They stuck to the game plan and locked in defensively which really set the tone for us in the first quarter," Goriss said.

"The Flyers have great offensive talent and we put some schemes during the week to corner their scoring ability and transition.

"Mitchell is a 'pain in the arse' to play against but we've got one called Kelsey Griffin who is also a 'pain in the arse' to play against and that's why she's on our team.

"I'm glad to that respect because I spent the last two or three years making a plan against her and now she's playing for us.

"It's a never say die attitude and that's what you get when you've got Kelsey Griffin on your team."

The Flyers came firing back in the final term with good ball movement and brought the margin down to 15-points.

A way-ward pass by Mitchell was stolen by Rocci, who flew down the court and offloaded to the unstoppable Nurse. Salt was added to the wound as Nurse licked her plate and converted the turnover, sparking a Capitals late resurgence.

But the Capitals' real test if whether they can back up the performance against the Melbourne Boomers on Saturday.

"They're supremely talented like Southside," Goriss said. "Melbourne pulled our pants down in Geelong and gave us a thrashing. We need to make sure we're locked in again.

"If we play basketball like we did [on Thursday] then it'll be a good game."

WNBL round five: CANBERRA CAPITALS 91 (Nurse 21, Froling 20) bt SOUTHSIDE FLYERS 72 (Mitchell 23, Russell 15)