Bendigo Spirit will ramp up preparations for their WNBL title defence in the league's first stand-alone pre-season tournament.
Townsville Tip-Off 25 will feature all eight teams in the north Queensland city for the three-day event, which runs from September 26-28.
Each team will play two games at the tournament in the same format used for the men's NBL Blitz.
It will coincide with Townsville Fire marking a quarter-century in the competition during the 2025-26 season, which tips off on October 18.
"Townsville has an incredibly passionate community of basketball fans and with the Townsville Fire celebrating their 25th year, there is no better place to showcase women's basketball," WNBL chief executive Jenny Sager said.
Bendigo claimed their first title in more than a decade under coach Kennedy Kereama last season and have been bolstered by the arrival of rising star Isobel Borlase from Adelaide.
Th Spirit and Lightning are set to clash on the first night of the pre-season tournament, after the Perth Lynx and Southside Melbourne Flyers open proceedings.
The hometown Fire feature in prime Saturday and Sunday slots, against the Sydney Flames and rebadged Geelong Venom respectively.
Fans and aspiring players will also have the opportunity to participate in SheHoops clinics led by WNBL legend Lauren Jackson and former Opals captain Tess Madgen.
