Canberra Capitals close to finalising roster after Tahlia Tupaea signs

Paul Goriss has just two vacancies left on his playing roster, having signed former Sydney Flames guard Tahlia Tupaea for the 2020-21 season.

Tupaea will slot into the Capitals' starting side at point-guard, with the 23-year-old's arrival to offset the departure of Olivia Epoupa.

She joins seven re-signed players from the Capitals' championship winning roster, with Goriss now scouring the free-agency list to find another ball-handler.

He's decided to leave the three-spot vacant until rising star Gemma Potter knows whether she's bound for college basketball or not.

"We've got about two spots left, we got in and got our work done early. I think we still need someone to handle the ball because we're young in the back court," Goriss said.

"Tahlia is only 23, Maddi Rocci is 22 and Abby [Cubillo] is also young, so we need experience in the back court.

"There's still the other decision to be made about whether Gemma goes to college or not. We still want Gemma to come in and fill that spot, but if she goes we need to keep it open for someone.

"We still need perimeter threats from the three-point line and shooting. That's the priority, to fill that spot with someone who can make shot from the perimeter."

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

Tupaea has the ability to shoot from the three-point range, providing Canberra with an extra option on court.

She brings eight years of WNBL experience and was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the 36^th overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.

Goriss coached her when she was part of the Australian Gems squad, who won bronze in the under-19's World Championships in 2015.

Having endured a horror stretch of injuries over the past two years, Goriss is hoping the Capitals can help Tupaea get back to her prime.

"Tahlia has shown during her years with Sydney she can play point-guard, off-guard and can handle the ball," Goriss said.

"I just like the way she plays, she's a strong point guard that has played in that position for a number of years and knows the league.

"Just getting her body fit and healthy is a number one priority for us going into the season. She probably played her best basketball when she was 19-to-21 years old.

"We haven't seen the best of her over the last two years due to her injury history, so I'm hoping we can get her back to where she was.

"She wouldn't be in the Opals squad or drafted by the WNBA if other people didn't think highly of her as a player. I think she's a great pick-up for us."

Although Tupaea has a daunting task ahead to replace grand final MVP Epoupa at one, Goriss says she brings her own threats to the Capitals' offensive ranks.

"I guess we've proved we went for something different when Leilani [Mitchell] and Kelly [Wilson] went with Olivia, and now we've gone for something different again with Tahlia," Goriss said.

"She has the ability to make plays off the dribble and shoots the ball better than Olivia does from the three-point range, so she'll be more of a perimeter threat than her.

"It makes it exciting for us to change somethings about how we play offensively due to our personnel."