Canberra Capitals break Bendigo Spirit in dominant WNBL win as Paul Goriss returns

But that's just how well things went in his return to the bench as the Canberra Capitals posted a 34-point win over Bendigo. You would struggle to wipe the smiles from their faces throughout, because as rising star Jade Melbourne puts it, "it felt like the whole family was back together".

The Capitals celebrated coach Goriss' return from suspension in style with an emphatic 94-60 win over the Spirit at the National Convention Centre on Sunday.

Goriss was welcomed by a warm ovation from the Canberra crowd following his ban for an integrity breach that saw him rubbed out for a month and referee Simon Cosier wiped out for the season.

The Capitals have been unwavering in their support of Goriss and his comeback only fuelled the fire for a side stepping onto the court to face a depleted Spirit outfit missing Maddie Garrick, Tessa Lavey and Leilani Mitchell.

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What followed went almost perfectly to script - only Goriss didn't expect to have 45 points coming from his bench.

"Obviously I didn't expect to be running plays for Alex Bunton shooting a three but she was hot today with her new shoes. That's what we've got, we've got a deep group," Goriss said.

"Now we've just got to get some consistency in our performances. That's something I've said since I've been back, we've just got to be more consistent in 40 minutes of basketball. What we showed today was the depth within our group, both in scoring and in our defence.

"Obviously it was a tough couple of weeks but the thing I was looking forward to most was getting back and seeing these girls and getting back into my happy place back on the court.

"It's great to come back and to get a win is icing on the cake. Happy days being back and moving forward, and getting ready to keep building on these wins."

United States import Britt Sykes, captain Kelsey Griffin and rising Opals player Melbourne pulled the strings in the opening half to leave Bendigo coach Tracy York scratching for answers with her side 19 points in arrears.

They were answers that never came. Melbourne finished with a game-high 19 points with six coming from beyond the arc, while Bunton, Griffin and Sykes all finished with 16 apiece.

"Bunts has been raring to have a game like that. She's been getting back into it and building every week," Melbourne said.

"If you look at the stat sheet, we had four people in double figures and the scoring was spread. Our defence dictated our offence. To score 94 points as a group was pretty good, that's the way we want to play and it's exciting."

AT A GLANCE

WNBL round eight: CANBERRA CAPITALS 94 (Jade Melbourne 19, Alex Bunton 16, Kelsey Griffin 16) bt BENDIGO SPIRIT 60 (Anneli Maley 16, Megan McKay 11, Alex Wilson 7) at National Convention Centre. Crowd: 584.

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