The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberra Union took control of the Capitals from Basketball ACT. New University of Canberra deal to boost Canberra Capitals recruitment The University of Canberra is the current naming rights sponsor for the Capitals.
History Founded in 1984, the Capitals first competed in the WNBL in the 1986 season after winning the Women's Basketball Conference (WBC) in 1985. After struggling to make an impact on the competition for more than a decade, the Capitals became one of the dominant teams in the WNBL in the 2000s, due in part to the ascension of one of the greatest female players in the world Lauren Jackson. Canberra Capitals Club History They have won the WNBL Grand Final in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2019 and 2019–20.
From 2017, the Capitals played out of the National Convention Centre Canberra for regular season games, as well as community and school venues Southern Cross Stadium, Tuggeranong and Radford College. For the 2024–25 WNBL season, the Capitals returned to the AIS Arena for the first time since the 2019–20 season after the venue received $15 million worth of repair work.
Between 2012 and 2018, the Canberra Capitals Academy played in the South East Australian Basketball League.
WNBL Grand Final appearances
The Capitals have competed in 11 Grand Finals, winning 9 (both WNBL records): WNBL Champions List Season Opponent Result Score Venue 1999/00 Adelaide Lightning Won 67–50 Clipsal Powerhouse, Adelaide 2000/01 Sydney Panthers Lost 65–69 AIS Arena, Canberra 2001/02 Sydney Panthers Won 75–69 AIS Arena, Canberra 2002/03 Sydney Flames Won 69–67 AIS Arena, Canberra 2005/06 Dandenong Rangers Won 68–55 Dandenong Basketball Stadium, Dandenong 2006/07 Sydney Uni Flames Won 73–59 ACUVUE Sports Hall, Sydney 2008/09 Bulleen Boomers Won 61–58 AIS Arena, Canberra 2009/10 Bulleen Boomers Won 75–70 State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne 2010/11 Bulleen Boomers Lost 78–103 State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne 2018/19 Adelaide Lightning Won 93–73 AIS Arena, Canberra
Season summaries Season-by-season records Season Standings Regular season Finals Head coachWLPCT Canberra Capitals 1986 6th 16 8 66.7 Did not qualify Jerry Lee 1987 9th 7 13 35.0 Did not qualify Ken Simpson 1988 5th 13 9 59.0 Did not qualify Dave Nelson 1989 9th 8 15 34.7 Did not qualify Guy Molloy 1990 11th 5 19 20.8 Did not qualify Tony McGee 1991 5th 12 10 54.5 Did not qualify Jerry Lee 1992 4th 11 9 55.0 Lost Semi Final (Dandenong, 65–67) Jerry Lee 1993 8th 7 11 38.8 Did not qualify Tad Duffelmeir 1994 7th 7 11 38.8 Did not qualify Jerry Lee 1995 6th 8 10 44.4 Did not qualify Michelle Wall 1996 8th 5 13 27.7 Did not qualify Michelle Wall 1997 6th 6 12 33.3 Did not qualify Mike McHugh 1998 8th 2 10 16.6 Did not qualify Mike McHugh 1998–99 8th 4 17 19.0 Did not qualify Mike McHugh 1999–00 1st 16 5 76.1 Lost Semi Final (Adelaide, 84–91) Won Preliminary Final (Bulleen, 80–66) Won Grand Final (Adelaide, 67–50) Carrie Graf 2000–01 1st 17 4 81.0 Won Semi Final (Sydney, 73–56) Lost Grand Final (Sydney, 65–69) Carrie Graf 2001–02 2nd 15 6 71.4 Won Semi Final (Adelaide, 66–62) Won Grand Final (Sydney, 75–69) Carrie Graf 2002–03 1st 16 5 76.1 Won Semi Final (Townsville, 68–67) Won Grand Final (Sydney, 69–67) Tom Maher 2003–04 4th 13 8 61.9 Lost Semi Final (Adelaide, 63–72) Carrie Graf 2004–05 5th 9 12 42.8 Did not qualify Tom Maher 2005–06 3rd 14 7 66.6 Won Semi Final (Bulleen, 67–62) Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 83–81) Won Grand Final (Dandenong, 68–55) Carrie Graf 2006–07 2nd 15 6 71.4 Lost Semi Final (Sydney, 65–74) Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 82–74) Won Grand Final (Sydney, 73–59) Carrie Graf 2007–08 3rd 17 7 70.8 Lost Semi Final (Dandenong, 54–60) Carrie Graf 2008–09 1st 19 3 86.3 Won Semi Final (Bulleen, 60–52) Won Grand Final (Bulleen, 61–58) Carrie Graf 2009–10 3rd 16 6 72.7 Won Semi Final (Townsville, 60–39) Won Preliminary Final (Sydney, 61–56) Won Grand Final (Bulleen, 75–70) Carrie Graf 2010–11 2nd 18 4 81.8 Lost Semi Final (Bulleen, 67–71) Won Preliminary Final (Bendigo, 83–78) Lost Grand Final (Bulleen, 78–103) Carrie Graf 2011–12 8th 9 13 40.9 Did not qualify Carrie Graf 2012–13 8th 7 17 29.2 Did not qualify Carrie Graf 2013–14 7th 10 14 41.7 Did not qualify Carrie Graf University of Canberra Capitals 2014–15 5th 11 11 50.0 Did not qualify Carrie Graf 2015–16 9th 2 22 8.33 Did not qualify Carrie Graf 2016–17 5th 13 11 54.1 Did not qualify Paul Goriss 2017–18 6th 7 14 33.3 Did not qualify Paul Goriss 2018–19 1st 16 5 76.1 Won Semi Final (Perth, 2–0) Won Grand Final (Adelaide, 2–1) Paul Goriss 2019–20 2nd 15 6 71.4 Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 2–1) Won Grand Final (Southside, 2–0) Paul Goriss20203rd 9469.2Lost Semi Final (Melbourne Boomers, 68–78)Paul Goriss2021–22 3rd11664.7Lost Semi Final (Perth Lynx, 0–1)Paul Goriss2022–23 8th2195.8Did not qualifyKristen Veal2023–24 8th41719.0Did not qualifyKristen VealRegular season 390 370 51.3 5 Minor PremiershipsFinals 30 10 75.0 9 WNBL Championships
1990 to 1998/99 In 1992 the Canberra City Group Capitals made the WNBL finals for the first time since their inception in 1984. The team finished 4th in the 11 team competition under coach Jerry Lee, with an 11–9 win–loss record. Jodie Murphy was named the top shooter in the WNBL for the season with 17.9 ppg and also made the WNBL All Star Five alongside Michelle Timms (Perth Breakers), Allison Cook (Melbourne Tigers), Michelle Brogan (Adelaide City) and Rachael Sporn (Adelaide City). Shooting guard Narelle Fletcher also ranked 3rd in the league in 3-point percentage, shooting 37% for the season (27/73). WNBL Media Guide 2009-10 The team was knocked out in the Preliminary Final by the 3rd placed Dandenong Rangers 75-65 (J. Murphy 23 pts, K. Tominac 13). Women's National Basketball League 1992 Annual Report
After some success in 1992, hopes were high in 1993 for the Capitals to become a premiership contender under new coach Tad Duffelmeir. These hopes increased with the recruitment of 196 cm Ukrainian centre Diana Sadovnikova in round 6 of the competition. Unfortunately the Capitals were unable to find stability with the rest of the team and were unable to replicate their form from the previous season. 1993 Annual Report – West Coast Women's National Basketball League The Capitals finished 7th in the 10 team league with a 7–11 win–loss record. 1993 WNBL Ladder
The Capitals once again hired Jerry Lee as their head coach for the 1994 season, hoping to replicate their finals experience two years earlier. They signed another European import, Joulia Goureeva to bolster the club alongside Sandovnikova. Despite the return of Lee and the two European imports the team still struggled for consistency, again finishing with a 7–11 record leaving them in 7th spot in the 10 team league. 1994 Women's National Basketball League Annual Report
Canberra started the 1995 season with a new coach, Michelle Wall. Unfortunately they lost the services of their two European imports Diana Sadovnikova and Joulia Goureeva who both departed to play for the Dandenong Rangers. The Capitals recruited forward/centre Latonya McGhee from the University of Florida, who finished went on to average 17.2 ppg (4th in the league) and 10.4 rpg (2nd in the league) and guard Cherie Hogg who returned to Australia after a two-year stint playing for the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Despite the good form of the new recruits the team still finished 6th in the league with an 8–10 win–loss record.
1996 saw Kerryn Owens step into the Captain role and lead from the point guard position. Cheree Hogg departed for her hometown team Adelaide Lightning and Capitals also lost McGhee, who returned to the U.S. To add experience to a young team the Capitals signed Opals forward Fiona Robinson from Perth. Robinson went on to average 17.8 ppg (equal 5th in the league) and 7.5 rpg (4th in the league) and was selected in the Opals team and won a bronze medal for Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Fiona Robinson-Hannan Olympic Record Joulia Goureeva also returned to the Capitals from Dandenong. The addition of Robinson and New Zealand guard Kim Wielens was not enough for the Capitals however as they finished 8th in the league with a 5–13 win–loss record.
The Capitals improved in 1997 narrowly missing out on a finals spot. The club signed American import Tanya Haave who combined well with Co-Captains Owens and Robinson, with the trio scoring an average of 40+ points per game between them. The club also added small forward Eleanor Sharp and AIS graduate guard Kellie Abrams to the squad. Haave proved to be a good recruit for the club and was named team MVP for the season USF Names Tanya Haave Head Women's Basketball Coach and the team finished equal 6th with Brisbane, just missing out on a top 5 finals spot with a 6–12 win–loss record.
The Capitals lost their three leading scorers, Fiona Robinson, Tanya Haave and Kerryn Owens for the 1998 season. Robinson quit the WNBL to represent Australia in European Handball prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Fiona Hannan Basketball Handball while Haave continued her career with Swedish team Sätila SK, and Owens was recruited to play in Holland. As a result, the team struggled to remain competitive, finishing second last in the competition with a 2–10 win–loss record, beating only the winless Brisbane. Thankfully the season was a shortened one, as the WNBL switched to a summer league later that year.
In 1998/99 the WNBL switched to a summer competition for the first time. The season signalled the beginning of a turnaround for the Capitals program. The club secured Opals shooting guard Shelley Sandie who returned to the WNBL after the collapse of the US ABL league. Sandie combined with new centre/forward Karen Smith to make the Capitals a competitive team, however the club still finished last with a 4–17 record. Sandie was honoured with a WNBL life membership and was also named in the WNBL All Star Five at the end of the season, alongside Kristi Harrower (Melbourne Tigers), Rachael Sporn (Adelaide Lightning), Lauren Jackson (AIS) and Gina Stevens (Perth Breakers). WNBL Inaugural Summer Season 1998/99 Link Cup Annual Board Report
1999/2000 season The 1999/2000 season provided the Capitals with their biggest turnaround in franchise history. On the back of signing premiership winning coach Carrie Graf from Sydney, the Capitals managed to secure the nucleus of their WNBL dynasty by recruiting a number of graduates from the 1998/99 championship winning AIS team. The Capitals signed 1998/99 league MVP Lauren Jackson in a recruitment coup that also netted the club point guard Kristen Veal and swingman Deanna Smith. When these three pieces of the puzzle were combined with veterans Shelley Sandie and Karen Smith along with forward Eleanor Sharp the Capitals finally had a team capable of contending for the WNBL title.