Canberra Capitals coach Carrie Graf credited desperation and focus for the side's 80-68 victory this afternoon against WNBL newcomers the Bendigo Spirit.
The Capitals survived a tough and often physical showdown with the Spirit, delighting the Southern Cross Stadium crowd after Bendigo pushed the defending champions until the final whistle as it attempted to keep its finals hopes alive.
Bendigo overcame some strong defensive pressure to be leading 41-39 at halftime but two three-point shots at the end of the third quarter from Tully Bevilaqua, who notched up her 2000th WNBL point, helped the Capitals to regain the momentum and the lead.
The victory extended the Capitals winning streak to four, their biggest of the season, and puts them just one victory behind second-placed Sydney Uni Flames with a game in hand.
Graf said there was still some improvement to make but she felt the side was on the right track for the finals series, which starts in five week's time.
“We're starting to find our form, out of Christmas we looked at where we were and what we needed to do,” she said.
“We've always had our hearts set on the play offs and we're starting to produce play-off brand basketball. It came down to focus and desperation today and they've been our themes for the last two weeks.”
A week after the Capitals guards had most of the impact on the scoreboard, including a 26-point haul from Nat Hurst against the Sydney Uni Flames, it was the team's talls who produced big games yesterday.
Tracey Beatty, who didn't make shoot around on Saturday because she lost a contact lens, got the Capitals off to a strong start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter before bagging her first double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Abby Bishop also doubled up in the statistics. At half time she had three points and four rebounds, but finished the game with an impressive 20 points and 10 boards.
After fouling out of last week's match for the sixth time this season, Beatty remained in the game today, although she did finish with four personal fouls, alongside Bevilaqua and Jess Bibby, who played her 200th WNBL match.
Graf said she was happy her bigs stayed out of foul trouble early in the game and was also impressed with an improved effort on the boards.
At half time Bendigo had tallied just two offence rebounds out of a total of 16, while Canberra dominated with 59 per cent of boards. The Capitals finished the match with 56 per pent, a turn around from last week when Bendigo won the battle of the glass.
The Capitals’ attack was strong from tip-off this afternoon, captain Kellie Abrams and Beatty giving their team the early advantage.
But they struggled to get a clean break from the Spirit and with three minutes left in the first quarter Gabrielle Richards, who finished the match with 13 points and seven rebounds, put Bendigo in front for the first time in the match.
A three-pointer from Abrams put the Capitals back on track and they went into the first break up 24-23.
The teams traded baskets and the lead for most of the second quarter, a three pointer from Louise McLean giving Bendigo a two-point lead at halftime.
After a quick four points to the Spirit in the third quarter, Canberra fought back with an 11-point unanswered run but they were still unable to shake a determined Bendigo outfit. Midway through the quarter the score was locked at 54-54 before baskets from Bishop and Bevilaqua ensured Canberra went into three-quarter time 62-58 in front.
The Capitals retained the lead throughout the fourth quarter and outscored the Spirit 18-10 to score their second-consecutive win against the Victorians.
The loss for Bendigo comes on the back of an overtime defeat on Saturday to the AIS and, consequently, it has dropped out of the top four.
CANBERRA CAPITALS 80 (Tracey Beatty 20, Abby Bishop 20, Kellie Abrams 15) bt BENDIGO SPIRIT 68 (Jenna O’Hea 15, Gabrielle Richards 13, Karen Ashby 13). Southern Cross Stadium, Tuggeranong. Crowd: 1100
By Julia Whyte for WNBL Media
Photo by Erik Li
