LILLE, France -- It was 15 seconds of play that put the Opals Olympic dreams on a knife's edge.
Two quick fouls and a missed layup from rising superstar Ezi Magbegor left head coach Sandy Brondello with no choice. With still 7:21 left in the first half, Magbegor would head to the bench with three fouls and the Opals trailing 24-20.
Lauren Jackson immediately stood up and took a few steps towards the scorer's table.
Brondello instead called for Marianna Tolo. Jackson sat back down.
"We went to Lauren early thinking maybe we could get some scoring punch because we're struggling with a bit of scoring. But I felt the physicality wasn't aiding us," Brondello explained.
Tolo scored near the basket moments later and then Brondello called on Cayla George, so often a pivotal spark in the green and gold over the years.
Sixteen seconds after entering the game, George canned a triple. The Opals had suddenly steadied the ship.
"I went with what I thought would help us in the moment. Sometimes my gut works and sometimes it doesn't, but I thought it was the right decision tonight," Brondello continued before giving a wink and a smile.
Tolo and George would play out the remainder of the second quarter, with the Opals closing on an 18-8 run following the third foul on Magbegor.
"Tolo and I have played together for 20 years. We've been at the AIS together all those years ago. It shows my age a little bit, but I guess I am 35," George smiled.
"We aren't new to this, we've been playing together for a long time, we've got great chemistry. I don't even need to see where she is, I know where she is and same for her to me. We went a bit vintage, but it got the job done tonight."
In the fourth quarter, with the game still in the balance, Brondello once again leant on Tolo and George down the stretch. The pair combining for 10 out of the team's 19 points in the period, with the Opals wearing the Canadians down.
With 2:34 to play and Canada threatening one final run by closing the margin to seven points, Tolo rolled to the basket, finishing while taking heavy contact to the body. She would lay on the floor for a few moments in pain in what felt like a key pressure release for the team.
"I'm sore," Tolo laughed. "I got hit in the stomach and almost vomited. It's all part of the game you just got to suck it up and keep fighting and just do your best."
When George ensured she got maximum bang for buck by fouling out in her 19 minutes of court time, the job was complete. With just 29 seconds on the clock, the Opals had secured a desperately required win.
The pair each finished with 11 points. They each reeled in three rebounds. They each had a monstrous impact on the result against Canada after combining for just eight minutes against Nigeria two days earlier.
"I've been in all kinds of situations in my time with the Opals and also in the WNBA," George said.
"I know a little thing about staying ready. It isn't easy. We're all ballers, we want to get out there and ball and do what we want to do. In this situation you want to go out and help your country."
"Ask any single player, we're not here to sit on the bench. In our own minds we'd love to play. But whatever role I'm given, I'll do it. It's an honour to be a part of this group for so long, this group owes me nothing. I owe it everything. Whatever I need to do to help us win I'll do it. That's what we do."
The Opals know they aren't playing at their best thus far in Lille, but they have a pulse, with experience coming to the fore at the most critical of moments. Along with the big duo, it was Sami Whitcomb and Steph Talbot who equally delivered, with a sense of calm finally settling across the roster the longer the game went.
"That was the difference. We're so excitable, we have so much energy. All the girls are so fast and used to WNBA and that's how they play, it's go, go, go," Tolo said.
"I'm old and big and I'm like, come on, let's take our time and take our time and get a good look. It really helped. We worked on it in practice and after the first couple of minutes I think it clicked and we remembered."
On one hand, the weight of expectation on the Opals is par for the course, but it's also reasonable and fair to acknowledge the mental toughness required to respond from such great disappointment 48 hours earlier.
"The other day was really heavy so I'm actually really proud of how we came out today. There might have been a little bit of residue when we first started but we worked through that well in the second half," George said.
"Extreme lows to start to tournament but it's about getting back to even keel. Never too high, never too low. Although that first game allowed us to hit a big low. The only way was up."
Maybe the Opals are a step off the pace. Or maybe they found a formula to build on. In 48 hours, the host nation France await, in what will be most certainly a hostile environment for the Australians.
Unlike the previous postgame, there were smiles all round. Including from Jackson, who hugged George as she left for the locker room.
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