A stirring final-quarter had the Lady Bandits out to a seven-point lead at one stage, before the Chargers fought back to lead by two with as many minutes to play.

Coach Jim Wilson's side dug deep once again in the dying minutes though, and pulled through for an eventual three-point win through a Megan Kermond steal and Molly Lewis jumper.

Two free-throws from Alex Ciabatonni iced the game for the visitors with 20 seconds to play, with the final score 82-79.

College recruit Haylee Lepaio was the cornerstone for the Lady Bandits, finishing with 26 points and 15 rebounds for an imposing double-double.

Most pleasing for coach Wilson was that everyone in his starting five finished with 10 points or more.

It was a similarly tough affair against Bendigo on Saturday night, albeit a lower scoring one.

The road double took its toll on the Lady Bandits, going down 64-59 despite threatening to take the game away from the Braves in the final 10 minutes.

Ellie Junod led the way with another strong performance (13 points, 10 rebounds) and found strong support in Rebecca Guglielmino, who dropped 11 points and eight rebounds after starting on the bench.

While he was disappointed not to have come away with the win against Bendigo, Wilson praised the endeavour of his young side.

“It's pleasing that we've been in the contest right up until the end of every game,” he said.

“With the exception of Frankston in round one, our losses have been by four, two and five points.

“In the past those margins would have blown out much further, so to have only lost by those small margins is a good step.

“We showed again that we're a competitive side this weekend.”

The Lady Bandits’ depth was set to be tested this weekend in the absence of young guns Steph Gorman and Mel Kirby, but came through with flying colours.

“I think this weekend showed that we're a really even side,” Wilson said.

“The scorecard on Friday night in Hobart was a reflection of that, as was Rebecca Guglielmino's performance against Bendigo.

“The win against Hobart was particularly encouraging because we were able to keep upping the tempo in the final quarter.

“When we went seven points up we knew they were going to come back at us.

“We hung in there and executed down the stretch, it was great sign of fitness and character.

“The team genuinely like being in each other's company, the chemistry we have is really good.”

The Lady Bandits will play just their second home game of the season when they host the Nunawading Spectres next weekend.