Walking bucket Borlase blings it up for Opals

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WNBL26 Most Valuable Player Isobel Borlase erupted for 19 points in 16 minutes as the Australian Opals assisted on 26 of their 31 field goals to blow out Argentina by 26 points in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Türkiye.

The WNBA-laden Opals overwhelm the Argentines 91-65 on March 11, 2026 (AEDT).

Australian Opals and Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello said: “It’s the first time this particular group has been together.

“You saw some really good moments and some moments where we’re trying to experiment. That’s why we need these games as we move forward.

“We’ll be very intentional with what we do this week.”

Australia has already qualified for the World Cup after winning the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup championship.

Borlase, 21, came off the bench and was ultra-efficient.

She led all Australian scorers with 19 points in under 17 minutes, shooting:

• 6-from-8 from the field
• 3-from-5 from three
• 4-from-5 from the line

WNBA centre Ezi Magbegor set the tone for the Australian bigs.

“We knew Argentina were going to be a tough opponent, especially being the first game and with them fighting for a World Cup spot,” Magbegor said.

“We never take any team for granted, and we wanted to start the tournament well. It was good to get the win, but we can look back on this game and work on a few things.

“This tournament is really important for us to build our chemistry and get better game by game.”

Magbegor produced the most complete performance on the floor:

• 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 1 block
• 5-from-6 from the field, 5-from-6 from the line
• +20 plus/minus, game-high 27 efficiency

Her ability to finish through contact, anchor defensive possessions and generate turnovers was central to Australia’s control of both ends.

Alongside Magbegor, reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith finished with seven rebounds and five assists

Snapshot

AUSTRALIA — BOX SCORE
Argentina 65, Australia 91

+----+-------------------+-------+----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+
| #  | Player            | MIN   |PTS |   FG   | 2PT FG  | 3PT FG  |   FT    | OREB | DREB | REB | AST |  PF |  TO | STL | BLK | +/- | EFF |
+----+-------------------+-------+----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+
|  2 | Jade Melbourne    |19:21  | 12 |  4/6   |  2/4    |  2/2    |  2/2    |  1   |  0   |  1  |  3  |  3  |  0  |  0  |  0  | +22 | 11  |
|  6 | Steph Talbot *    |23:34  |  6 | 3/10   |  3/6    |  0/4    |  0/0    |  1   |  2   |  3  |  4  |  1  |  2  |  1  |  1  | +17 |  6  |
| 11 | Alanna Smith *    |20:32  |  4 |  2/6   |  2/4    |  0/2    |  0/0    |  0   |  7   |  7  |  5  |  2  |  3  |  1  |  0  |  +7 | 10  |
| 12 | Stephanie Reid    |12:36  |  5 |  2/3   |  1/1    |  1/2    |  0/0    |  0   |  1   |  1  |  3  |  3  |  0  |  0  |  0  | +25 |  8  |
| 13 | Ezi Magbegor *    |22:23  | 16 |  5/6   |  4/4    |  1/2    |  5/6    |  4   |  3   |  7  |  2  |  4  |  0  |  3  |  1  | +20 | 27  |
| 14 | Cayla George      |18:23  |  3 |  1/2   |  1/1    |  0/1    |  1/2    |  0   |  4   |  4  |  2  |  1  |  2  |  0  |  0  | +12 |  5  |
| 15 | Isobel Borlase    |16:57  | 19 |  6/8   |  3/3    |  3/5    |  4/5    |  0   |  2   |  2  |  1  |  2  |  1  |  0  |  0  | +18 | 18  |
| 16 | Zitina Aokuso     | 9:03  |  4 |  1/1   |  1/1    |  0/0    |  2/3    |  0   |  1   |  1  |  2  |  0  |  0  |  1  |  0  | +12 |  7  |
| 17 | Alexandra Fowler  |12:51  |  4 |  1/3   |  0/0    |  1/3    |  1/2    |  0   |  2   |  2  |  2  |  0  |  1  |  0  |  0  |  -7 |  4  |
| 18 | Sami Whitcomb *   |22:35  |  6 |  2/8   |  0/1    |  2/7    |  0/0    |  2   |  2   |  4  |  0  |  2  |  1  |  0  |  0  |  +4 |  3  |
| 19 | Alex Wilson *     |15:32  |  8 |  2/4   |  0/0    |  2/4    |  2/2    |  1   |  3   |  4  |  2  |  1  |  2  |  0  |  0  | -10 | 10  |
| 20 | Chloe Bibby       | 6:13  |  4 |  2/4   |  2/2    |  0/2    |  0/0    |  0   |  1   |  1  |  0  |  0  |  0  |  1  |  0  | +10 |  4  |
+----+-------------------+-------+----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+
|    | TEAM TOTALS       |200:00 | 91 |31/61   |19/27    |12/34    |17/22    | 10   | 29   | 39  | 26  | 19  | 15  |  7  |  2  |     |113  |
+----+-------------------+-------+----+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+

* Starters

• Final Score: Australia 91 – Argentina 65
• Biggest Lead: Australia by 26
• Time Leading: Australia 33:13
• Bench Points: Australia 36 – Argentina 26
• Points in the Paint: Australia 36 – Argentina 12

Argentina showed early intent, taking multiple small leads in the first six minutes before Australia stabilised.  The turning point came midway through the first quarter. With Argentina ahead 12–10, Magbegor tied the game at the free-throw line before Australia closed the period on a decisive run. Borlase then stretched the margin with perimeter scoring, helping establish a lead Australia never relinquished.

From that point, the Opals dictated tempo and spacing. Their ball movement generated high-percentage looks inside (70.4% on two-point attempts), while disciplined transition defence prevented Argentina from sustaining momentum.

Australia’s largest surge came late in the fourth quarter — an 11–0 burst that blew the margin out beyond 20 points and effectively ended any comeback hopes.

Opals Offensive Execution

Australia shot 50.8% from the field, built on:

• Elite interior finishing (19-from-27 on twos)
• Strong paint pressure led to 22 free-throw attempts.
• Balanced scoring across rotations

The Opals also had 26 assists on 31 field goals. Despite moderate three-point volume (12-from-34), Australia consistently generated clean looks — particularly in second-side actions where Argentina’s help rotations were late.

| Category        | Argentina | Australia |
| --------------- | --------- | --------- |
| FG%             | 36%       | **51%**   |
| Rebounds        | 31        | **39**    |
| Assists         | 17        | **26**    |
| Points in Paint | 12        | **36**    |
| Turnovers       | 15        | 15        |

Guard Rotation Impact

Australia’s backcourt depth was a major differentiator:

• Jade Melbourne: 12 points, 3 assists, 66.7% shooting
• Stephanie Reid: 5 points, 3 assists in 12 minutes
• Alex Wilson: 8 points, 4 rebounds, perfect free-throw shooting

This rotation allowed Australia to sustain defensive pressure without sacrificing offensive organisation.

Even with veteran Sami Whitcomb shooting 2-for-8, the Opals’ scoring remained stable due to bench production and frontcourt efficiency.

Next Up

Australia vs Japan — 10.30pm on Thursday, March 12, 2026 (AEDT).