The Canberra Capitals took the outright lead in the Women's National Basketball League with a comfortable 62-45 win over the Dandenong Rangers in last night's top-of-the-table clash at Tuggeranong.

Both teams were undefeated heading into last night's match, but the defending champions showed their class to lead the entire 40 minutes.

The world's best women's player, Lauren Jackson, again, stamped her authority with 22 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks. But it was the second-half performance of her team-mates that most pleased Capitals coach Carrie Graf.

"The difference was when everyone else started stepping up for us," Graf said. "We started hitting some threes and everyone got involved in the offence rather than just leaving it to Loz.

"Dandenong are a legitimate play-off contender and we expected this to be a tough encounter, so to win by almost 20 was huge."

It was a sleepy opening to the game and it's a good thing that watching Jackson is worth the price of admission alone - she provided the only real entertainment in the first half.

While Jackson had scored 18 of Canberra's 32 points by half-time, it was her defence that most impressed.

Her contribution was highlighted by a short period in the second term when she was on the bench and the Rangers pulled a 12-point deficit back to five.

Rangers point guard Sam Richards ignited the mini-comeback, scoring with two aggressive drives to the basket.

Jackson returned and Richards tried the move twice again, only to be blocked by Jackson both times.

The game came to life in the second half, highlighted by a string of three-pointers from the Canberra Capitals.

Guard Kate Cohen opened up with the back-to-back triples, while a seven-point point cameo from Sarah Berry helped the Caps build a 50-36 lead by the last break.

Opposing sisters Lucille Bailie and Jacinta Hamilton welcomed each other to the court at the start of the match with a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

While Caps captain Lucille enjoyed the win, it was baby sister Jacinta who got the points in, the one-on-one family feud. Hamilton was Dandenong's best with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Canberra Capitals will be in Bankstown tonight to take on the Sydney Flames in a rematch of the last three grand finals.

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA CAPITALS 62 Lauren Jackson 22, Kate Cohen 9, Kellie Abrams 7, Sarah Berry 7 b DANDENONG RANGERS 45 Jacinta Hamilton 12, Carly Wilson 8;
at Tuggeranong