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This week, the WNBL saw two Atlanta Dream players find themselves at opposite sides of a rematch of last year’s Finals between the Southside Flyers and the Perth Lynx. Naz Hillmon and Laeticia Amihere not only are both focal points for their teams, but their performances also are proving that the Dream’s future is in good hands.

Naz Hillmon improves and impresses

Coming off the best season of her WNBA career, Naz Hillmon is back in Australia. With the Melbourne Boomers, her previous WNBL team, now defunct, she joined the reigning champs, the Flyers, who started the season with a new coach and a new roster. Last season, she made the All-WNBL Second Team, with averages of 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

This season, the Flyers got off to a slow start, but the former Michigan Wolverine has been great. In the six games played so far, she has shot below 53 percent from the field only once, and scored below 17 points just one time as well. She’s averaging 19.7 points and 9.2 rebounds, and remains a bright spot for the Flyers, who were once again beaten by the Lynx in the second rematch of last season’s Finals, 89-82. The Flyers played without starting forward Alice Kunek and put up a fight, getting close to overcoming an 18-0 scoring run by the Lynx.

Laeticia Amihere is… here

The Lynx’s win came, in part, thanks to Laeticia Amihere’s 14 points and four boards. The Canadian forward has yet to start her first WNBA game, but after her second year in the W, she signed with the Lynx and is shining in a starting role. Her averages for the first seven games in Australia—all starts—tell you all you need to know. She’s putting up 16.9 points per game on 58 percent shooting, while also grabbing 4.6 rebounds for the second-best team in the league. Those numbers are way above her averages for the Dream, and even above her production at South Carolina.

Asked about her impact on the games, Amierhere has said:

I think my team is great at having my back and our defense is one that we have each other’s back in every situation. I would just say looking up at the scoreboard and knowing my team needs me to be more aggressive is all the motivation I need to turn things up a little.

League standings

1. Bendigo Spirit (7-0)

2. Perth Lynx (6-1)

3. Townsville Fire (4-2)

4. Sydney Flames (2-4)

5. Southside Flyers (2-4)

6. Geelong United (2-4)

7. Canberra Capitals (2-5)

8. Adelaide Lightning (1-5)