After trailing by 20 points late in the second quarter, the Border club staged a remarkable turnaround in front of a raucous home crowd to win by five points, 62-57, in an inspiring display of team basketball.

Lady Bandits coach Ken Kereama said the win was testament to the team’s unshakeable self-belief and he admitted he had urged the team at half-time to stick to their gameplan despite trailing by 16 points.

“We didn’t have much to get really angry about, we just wanted to continue to make Sandringham take tough shots,” Kereama said.

“We felt that if we stuck to the processes then eventually they would start to miss some shots and that’s what happened.

“I was a little worried, we were getting good shots and we just weren’t making them but we knew if we kept persisting the shots would start to fall.

“It’s just a fantastic win, the girls are so gutsy and their endeavour and will to win is remarkable, words sometimes can’t describe their efforts.”

Towering Lady Sabres centre Cayla Francis led all scorers with 27 points, Renae Camino added 11 points but fellow WNBL player Nicole Hunt was held to just four points and five turnovers by Lady Bandits guards Tenille Collins and Monique Stevens.

The New Zealand duo of Lisa Wallbutton and Toni Edmondson were once again the stars for the Border outfit, with Wallbutton scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 boards, while Edmondson nailed 13 points in another solid all-around display.

Living up to Kereama’s preseason prediction, Ellie Gleeson produced some critical scoring and rebounding with seven points, five boards

Both teams struggled to hit shots in the early stages of the match with the hosts missing their first five attempts from the field as the Lady Sabres took a 6-2 lead after five minutes of play.

Sandringham continued to push the pace and by the end of the first quarter had established a 15-10 advantage thanks to a Talita Haddad bomb at the buzzer.

The Lady Sabres reeled off three quick baskets to start the second period to extend the margin to 12 points as the Border club continued to struggle to find any offensive rhythm.

Nothing the Lady Bandits tried was successful as Sandringham led by as many as 20 before entering the long interval with a 36-20 lead.