THE REIGNING champions may have suffered quite the scare, but the Bendigo Spirit held on to claim a two-point win over the UC Capitals in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) action over the weekend.

It was shaping as a one-sided affair given the two teams’ contrast in starting the season. The Spirit’s championship defence has been off to a solid start, with Bendigo once again among the heavy-hitters during the 2025/26 season. On the other hand, the Capitals were sitting at the bottom of the ladder with just one win to their name, and were going to be up against it when they took on last year’s winner at Red Energy Arena.

Canberra produced a stirring performance, but in the end, it was Bendigo’s Marianna Tolo who was the last-second hero with a match-winning tip-in on the offensive rebound to help the Spirit win it at the death and avoid the upset loss.

Bendigo Spirit (73) def. UC Capitals (71)

The match looked to be going as expected in the opening minutes of the contest, with the Spirit storming out of the gates and taking control of the match. Canberra’s defence simply had no match for last year’s winners, and at the first break, it was the home side who had shot out to a double-digit buffer to lead by 10 points at the first change.

It was an improved effort from the Capitals in the second quarter, who refused to allow the Spirit to have life as easy on the offensive end. It was sparked by an increase in physicality, with Canberra looking to make Bendigo question attacking the basket. Although the visitors had cut the margin to three points, a late surge by the Spirit pushed the deficit out to seven points at half-time.

Canberra came out of the main change with a fire in its belly, with the visitors snatching the momentum of the contest and putting proceedings on their terms. The Spirit’s lead vanished in stunningly quick fashion, and suddenly, Red Energy Arena was silenced as the Capitals hit the front in the third frame. At the final break, it was Bendigo that trailed by three points with 10 minutes to play in a stunning turnaround.

The two teams traded blows in the final term, with the lead changing hands on several occasions as it became evident that the match was going down to the wire. With the game tied with just seconds on the clock, the Spirit threw up a match-winning attempt, and although that shot missed, Tolo popped up for the most important play of the game, tipping the ball in as time expired for a match-winning moment that was one of the highlights of the season.

Game-winning hero Tolo finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, including the most important play of the game, although the result would not have been possible without the efforts of Isobel Borlase. The gun off-season recruit continued her strong form with 25 points and some incredible shotmaking against Canberra.

For the Capitals, Kadiatou Sissoko was far and away the standout, proving the catalyst for the third-quarter surge and almost dragging her side to victory. She finished the match with 19 points without a free throw and was one of the key players in the game.