Win or lose, coach Jim Wilson says his much-improved team has a lot to prove after being hammered by Frankston last weekend.

The 40-point defeat was by far the worst for the season.

But rather than dwell on it, Wilson has urged his players to shake it off and concentrate on getting back on the winners list against the Canberra Capitals this Saturday.

“The girls are really keen to bounce back from last week’s result and prove that it was a one-off,” he said.

“We match up pretty well against Canberra, but they’ll come here knowing that we’ve only got the two wins and be looking to get on the board.

“It’ll be a hotly contested game.” 

The loss to the Blues was the first time the Lady Bandits of old were seen since Wilson took over as coach.

A series of close losses to quality sides were the hallmark of the first half of their season.

Wilson said how the side rebounded after the heavy defeat would be a good measure of their progress.

“I think it’ll be a good test for them,” he said.

“They showed a lot of character on Tuesday at practice, they were very clean and efficient and showed a lot of focus.

“Hopefully that effort carries through to the weekend.

“We played Canberra during the pre-season, so we will be able to get some measure of how we’ve progressed through the year.” 

Steph Gorman will miss the match due to her attendance at the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders camp in Melbourne.

Wilson said that while the Lady Bandits had the depth through the guard position to cover for her, the loss of Ellie Junod to a knee injury was beginning to take its toll.

“We’re disappointed not to have Steph, but we’ve got plenty of depth in the guards with Mel Kirby, Megan Quinn and Tenille Collins,” he said.

“Not having Ellie the last couple of weeks has probably hurt us more than we realised.” 

While Junod’s absence continued to be felt, Wilson said Rebecca Guglielmino had improved with more minutes.

“Her practice form has been really good,” he said.

“Her ability to play with a little bit more poise will help her going forward.

“But she certainly knows how to hit the scoreboard, she’s not shy to take a shot.

“She brings a lot of enjoyment to the group as well, always happy and up and about, which is invaluable at this time of year.” 

Tip-off for the match is at 6pm at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.

The Lady Bandits defeated Canberra 57-51 when they last met.