It might as well have been young Marianna Tolo’s birthday yesterday.

Just in case her debut selection in the Australian Opals team to play in the Oceania Championships wasn’t enough, she followed up with an audacious 29 point, 10 rebound and 5 steal performance to lead her AIS team to an impressive 88-83 overtime win over reigning Australian Defence Force WNBL Champions, the TransACT Canberra Capitals.

The Institute team showed from the outset in this first game of their own five-team preseason tournament, that fresh from their galvanizing experiences at the recent World Junior Championships, they will be an entirely different proposition this WNBL season compared to last year’s callow group.

After just four minutes, versatile forward Cayla Francis had 7 points and Tolo had 4, to push the home team to a 13-1 lead. Inevitably, the Capitals settled after Coach Carrie Graf had organised the obligatory time-out and with Caitlin Cunningham finding her rhythm inside, they recovered to go to the first quarter break down 21-13.

The second quarter produced the start of a Jess Bibby scoring surge that would continue to pace the Capitals throughout the contest. She piled on ten points with a variety of drives and curls only to be answered by Tolo’s 13-point contribution from deep inside the paint. Francis was forced to the bench with her third personal midway through the term and in her absence livewire point guard Nicole Hunt did her best to drive the Institute’s transition game back at a somewhat sluggish Capitals outfit.

Despite the AIS holding on to their lead at the long break (43-37), in the third quarter the Capitals kept coming on the back of Tracey Beatty’s interior simplicity and Bibby’s continuing attack.

The Champions stole the lead heading into the last period and skipped as many as seven points clear, looking headed for the inevitable win that the game had promised prior to the tip.

Somehow though, the youngsters from the Institute found another gear with Tolo turning provider for Nikita Martin and Francis in quick succession and Hunt bombing a 25-footer almost on the final buzzer to tie the scores up at 74.

The extra period belonged to the Institute, and despite a few hiccups they did what good teams do and sealed the win from the free throw stripe as the Capitals threw the dice to try and reel them in.

The four-day Tournament which also involves Townsville, Dandenong and Japan’s Jomo Sunflowers continues through to Sunday with three games on Friday and Saturday and two on Sunday. All games are at the AIS Training Hall and admission is free.

 AIS 88 (Marianna Tolo 29, Cayla Francis 15, Caitlin Rowe 10) def TransACT Canberra Capitals 83 (Jess Bibby 30, Tracey Beatty 19, Caitlin Cunningham 14) in overtime