THE WNBL has wrapped for another year, and there was plenty of excitement across the course of the 2023 season.

It was a different looking landscape as the campaign rolled on, with contenders rising and falling in a tense finish to the home and away fixture. Ultimately, the strongest side in the Townsville Fire claimed the grand prize, but other teams showed plenty of promise and delivered highlights of their own.

As we did with the NBL over the past few weeks, Rookie Me Central will be taking a look at how each side fared in the 2022/23 season, with mixed results across the eight teams.

The first team on the agenda are the UC Capitals, who suffered a slide down the standings with a different looking roster to their previous campaign, where they finished fourth on the standings.

Instead, the University of Canberra found itself as the season’s wooden spooners, unable to conjure any on-court cohesion and managed just a pair of wins.

UC Capitals

2022/23 record – two wins, 19 losses

It was a season to forget for the Capitals, scrounging together just two wins across 19 games and struggling to find a winning formula.

Both of their wins came at home, giving their fans something to cheer for on two occasions with a pair of triumphant performances.

However, there is plenty of improvement needed in the coming months from the Capitals, who will be eager to bump up that win total next season.

MVP – Jade Melbourne

Melbourne was a pillar of consistency in a turbulent season for the Capitals, continuing to produce standout numbers. Despite the team’s struggles, the guard never stopped fighting and was the team’s best player in its 2022/23 campaign, finishing with averages of 13.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game across 19 appearances. The team looked much more competitive when she was controlling the play and setting up the offence. At just 20 years of age, the rising star has plenty of basketball ahead of her, and while the team was unable to get the runs on the board, there was certainly some important development for Melbourne.

Next season

The biggest area to address over the offseason will be UC’s scoring, with the Capitals producing the least amount of points per game at 76.1 per game. Shanice Swain was the team’s leading scorer across the season (of players who played more than four games) with 14.5 points per game. Expect the Capitals to be aggressive in the offseason as they pursue a pillar of offence and a player that can produce 15-20 points per game. Should they pull in a big scorer, things may look up for UC next time around.