WNBA champion Miela Sowah's 27 off bench burns Capitals

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Miela Sowah scored 27 points off the bench in her first WNBL27 game as the Townsville Fire beat the UC Capitals 85-78 at AIS Arena on Sunday, eight days after landing home a WNBA champion.

Sowah's game-deciding performance came 24 hours after WNBA Finals opponent Isobel Borlase had 22 points in her first game back from the US. It's the first time Sowah played since she got minutes for the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday, September 19 (AEST) in the regular-season finale against the Portland Fire, an 82-66 win. She played 4 minutes and didn't score.

Sowah needed 24 minutes against the Capitals, shooting 9-from-17, including 4-from-10 from three, and 5-from-5 at the line. She scored 14 in the second quarter, when Townsville turned a 33-32 deficit into a 50-37 half-time lead with an 18-4 finish.

Canberra came back. Amy Atwell scored 11 of her 18 in a third quarter the Capitals won 31-19, and Charlotte Whittaker's turnaround jumper put them ahead 68-67 with 1:10 left in the term.

Sowah answered with a driving layup 14 seconds later, and Townsville never trailed again. The Fire opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to lead 81-70, Sowah scoring seven of those points, and Canberra shot 4-from-22 in the final term.

Alexandra Fowler had 17 points and nine rebounds in 39 minutes. Alicia Froling played all 40 for 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, the most by any player in a WNBL27 game, and passed 800 career WNBL rebounds.

Nyadiew Puoch had 14 points and nine rebounds for Canberra, and Megan McConnell had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Capitals took 10 more shots than Townsville but made 5-from-22 from three to the Fire's 9-from-31.

Townsville have won four straight and move to 5-2, second behind the Perth Lynx, and host the Bendigo Spirit on Sunday, November 22. Canberra drop to 3-2 and host the Tasmania Jewels the same day.

What you need to know

• The Townsville Fire beat the UC Capitals 85-78 at AIS Arena in Canberra in Round 5 of WNBL27 on Sunday, November 15, 2026, moving to 5-2 and dropping Canberra to 3-2.
• Townsville won three of the four quarters, 21-20, 29-17, 19-31 and 16-10, came from 8-0 down, led 50-37 at half-time, lost the lead at 68-67 late in the third and took it back for good 14 seconds later.
• Miela Sowah top-scored with 27 off the bench on 9-from-17, including 4-from-10 from three, in her first WNBL27 game, and Amy Atwell led Canberra with 18 on 5-from-14, including 5-from-5 at the line.
• Townsville made 9-from-31 from three to Canberra's 5-from-22, a 12-point edge from the arc in a seven-point game.
• Canberra took 78 shots to Townsville's 68 off 16 offensive rebounds, but Townsville blocked seven, Canberra blocked none, and the Capitals shot 4-from-22 in the fourth quarter.

Milestones & Moments

• Alicia Froling passed 800 career WNBL rebounds. Her 800th was an offensive rebound she tipped in for a 54-46 lead early in the third quarter, and she finished the game on 802.
• Amy Atwell played her 97th WNBL game and moved to 1,498 career WNBL points, two short of 1,500, with Canberra hosting Tasmania next on November 22.
• Nyadiew Puoch moved to 937 career WNBL points in her 101st WNBL game.
• Courtney Woods moved to 533 career WNBL rebounds and 459 career WNBL assists in her 132nd WNBL game.
• Alexandra Fowler played her 86th WNBL game and moved to 857 career WNBL points and 476 career WNBL rebounds.

Townsville Fire

• Sowah scored a game-high 27 off the bench on 9-from-17, including 4-from-10 from three, and 5-from-5 at the line, with four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes, and her plus-22 was the best on the floor.
• Fowler had 17 points, nine rebounds, five of them offensive, and three assists on 7-from-13, including 2-from-4 from three, and 1-from-2 at the line, in 39 minutes.
• Froling played all 40 minutes for 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks on 6-from-10 and 1-from-2 at the line, and scored 10 of her points in the third quarter.
• Abbey Ellis scored 12 on 4-from-12, including 1-from-7 from three, and 3-from-3 at the line, with five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and had seven of her points in the fourth quarter.
• Lauren Jensen scored 10 on 3-from-8, including 2-from-7 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, with seven of her points in the first quarter.
• Courtney Woods had four points on 1-from-7, including 0-from-3 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, with a Townsville-high six assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
• Chloe Forster scored two off the bench on 1-from-1 in under seven minutes, with an assist and a steal, and her layup made it 50-35 with 41 seconds left in the half.
• Townsville shot 31-from-68 from the field, 9-from-31 from three and 14-from-16 at the line, with 40 rebounds, 19 assists, six steals, seven blocks and 10 turnovers.

UC Capitals

• Atwell top-scored for Canberra with 18 on 5-from-14, including 3-from-8 from three, and 5-from-5 at the line, and had 11 in the third quarter, including three free throws that tied the game 63-63.
• Nyadiew Puoch had 14 points and nine rebounds on 7-from-15, including 0-from-2 from three, and 0-from-2 at the line, in a Canberra-high 35 minutes.
• McConnell had 11 points, eight rebounds, a Canberra-high five assists and two steals on 3-from-8, including 1-from-2 from three, and 4-from-5 at the line.
• Manuela Puoch scored 10 on 5-from-16, including 0-from-4 from three, with seven rebounds, four of them offensive, and two steals.
• Isabella Brancatisano scored nine off the bench on 4-from-8, including 1-from-2 from three, and her three with 1:37 left in the third quarter cut the gap to 67-66.
• Sharne Robati scored eight on 4-from-5, with four rebounds and two assists in under 21 minutes.
• Whittaker scored six off the bench on 3-from-5 in nine minutes, and her turnaround jumper gave Canberra a 68-67 lead with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
• Canberra shot 32-from-78 from the field, 5-from-22 from three and 9-from-12 at the line, with 44 rebounds, 16 of them offensive, 15 assists, eight steals, no blocks and 11 turnovers.

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