Crunch Time: The key moments from Round 5

This weekend's games saw five thrilling contests take place all across the country.

Highlighting this round were Townsville's first home game of WNBL26 and the return of Capitals superstar Zitina Aokuso.

Join us as we recap all the top moments from Round 5 during our weekly column.

Crowd numbers continue to soar

Fans continue to flock to WNBL26 games at record numbers.

In Round 5 in particular, the competition had an 112 per cent increase in attendance on last season.

Overall, through the first five rounds, crowds are up 30 per cent year on year, highlighting the growth and excitement around the competition.

Road warriors shine at home

After opening the season by going 4-1 on the road, Townsville finally returned to the Fire Pit for their first home game on Saturday.

Shannon Seebohm's side marked the occasion with a big win over Adelaide, set up by a commanding 56-26 second half.

The Fire will look to make it two straight wins at home when they host the UC Capitals on Saturday.

Collosus return in the Capital

Heading into Round 5, UC Capitals were 1-4 and needed a spark.

Enter returning superstar and Australian Opal Zitina Aokuso.

While she was only needed for 3.35 minutes, in which she scored a quick fire seven points, it provided the platform for the Capitals in their fixture with Sydney.

At the AIS Arena, the Capitals led 34-10 at quarter time and never looked back, going on to win by 40 points.

With Aokuso in their lineup, the Capitals are a very dangerous team, who will look to make it two wins on the trot when they travel to Townsville this weekend.

More milestones

WNBL superstar Cayla George added another milestone her her impressive resume on Friday by moving into fifth all time in WNBL games played.

George's appearance for the Flyers against Geelong moved her to 376 games, overtaking Karen Dalton on 375.

The three time Olympian is now just one game behind Rachael Sporn and Lucille Bailie in equal third, with Kelly Wilson (476) and Jessica Bibby (393) leading the way.

George will move into equal third on Saturday when her Flyers host Sydney at the Victorian State Basketball Centre from 3pm AEDT on Saturday.

In other milestone news, Perth's Steph Gorman chalked up her 50th WNBL on Sunday, during the Lynx's win over Bendigo at the Perth High Performance Centre.

MVP race heating up

After five rounds, numerous superstars have shown why they deserve to be in this season's MVP race.

Geelong's Mackenize Holmes continues to lead the league in scoring with 24.43 points, while being fourth in the competition in rebounds (9.86).

While Isobel Borlase, who dominated in her return to Adelaide on Tuesday night, is tallying 21.33 points (second best in WNBL), 6.33 rebounds and 3.67 dimes.

The other main contender at this stage is Townsville's Courtney Woods, who is putting up 14.83 points, 7.67 assists (first in competition), 4.17 rebounds and 2.50 steals (also first in WNBL).