Crunch Time: The key moments from Round 7

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

Highlighting this round was a highly anticipated debut, another incredible milestone for Cayla George and the introduction of the competition's newest team.

Join us as we recap all the top moments from Round 7 during our weekly column.

Jewels to shine bright

Tasmania officially unveiled the name of their WNBL franchise would be the Jewels on Monday.

As the club explains, the Jewels emerge with a bold identity inspired by Tasmania’s deep basketball roots and the raw beauty of its wilderness. The brand captures the spirit, resilience and authenticity that define the state’s sporting DNA, while also finding a strong and unique identity for the women’s team.

We welcome the Jewels to the WNBL with open arms and can't wait to see what you bring to the competition.

The Xu fits

211cm Chinese superstar Han Xu made her long-awaited WNBL debut on Saturday, as Perth defeated Canberra by 24 points at the AIS Arena.

In the victory, the two-time Olympian and former New York Liberty star tallied 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steals in the Lynx's win.

Xu and her Lynx side, who are 6-3 on the season, now return back to Perth for the import's first game in front of her home fans.

George moves to third all-time

Cayla George etched her name further into the WNBL record books on Saturday when her Southside Melbourne Flyers played the Fire in Townsville.

The Paris Olympic Games bronze medallist overtook Rachael Sporn and Lucille Bailie and moved into third spot on the competition's all-time games played (378) list.

George is the competition's all time rebounds leader (3674) and sits third all time in points scored (5300) and blocks (465).

Crowds numbers surge

The incredible crowds during the WNBL26 season show no signs of slowing down.

During Round 7, the competition had an 82 per cent increase year on year.

That number gives the competition a year on year increase by 42 per cent, compared to the first seven rounds of last season.

Bendigo's baby news

Fresh off chalking up her 250th WNBL game, alongside close friend and teammate Kelsey Girffin, Marianna Tolo announced that she is pregnant with her first child.

The three-time Olympian Tolo and her husband, Bendigo Spirit general manager, Dan Jackson, informed the club during the early stages of the pregnancy, before announcing the news publicly last week before the Spirit's win over Sydney.

The five-time champion, who will miss the remainder of the season, is expected to remain around the club for the entire 2025-26 campaign.