Despite the Lady Bandits closing to within four points late in the game after trailing by 10 at the half, the Capitals came away with a hard fought 72-65 victory.

Emma Mahady top-scored for the Lady Bandits with 17 points to go with three rebounds and five assists.

The Capitals had a height advantage over the visitors from the tip, with Keely Froling (20-9-6) and Amanita Fall (15-11) making the most of it.

Despite the loss, head coach Jim Wilson said it had been a largely positive outing for the young side.

“We were more consistent this week, we made a few positional changes that worked out quite well,” he said.

“When all is said and done we were probably just a little too short, Froling and Fall were able to have a big impact because of that.

“Defensively we played very well, but they were able to hit a number of tough shots late on the shot clock that really hurt.

“It was a case of good defence, but a better shot.

“We played well, but just didn’t get the chocolates.” 

One of the aforementioned changes was moving the more experienced Mahady to point guard and Steph Gorman to shooting guard.

The move paid off, with Mahady having a more profound impact and Gorman still offering a strong contribution (13 points, 4 assists, two steals) working off the ball.

“I think (Mahady and Gorman) complemented each other a bit better after we made that change,” Wilson said.

“We still need to be scoring 70-plus points each game to be a serious threat though.”