Alex Bunton and the Canberra Capitals hunt for early Christmas present in WNBL clash

The Capitals return to home court when they face the Bendigo Spirit at the National Convention Centre on Wednesday night.

The clash doubles as Canberra's last before a short Christmas break and a chance to reverse their fortunes just three days after a forgettable loss to Adelaide at home.

The Capitals have to bounce back from a turbulent three days which saw them trounced by 26 at home and then coach Paul Goriss banned for five games for his role in an integrity breach that saw a referee banned for an entire season.

So now Bunton is determined to secure an early gift to her home fans after returning to the club for the first time in for the first time in seven years, as the Capitals look to head into the festive season with a win under their belt.

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"Look, we're going to get it done," Bunton grinned.

"After a loss, you always want to get back on the court so you can redeem yourself. It's good that we have a game [on Wednesday]. The vibe, no one likes to lose, but it's early in the season.

"It's only game two for us, and it's a good chance for us to actually work on things we need to work on. At least it's not halfway through the season. The vibe would be different then. We're okay.

"[Playing in front of the home] crowd is great. Even when we were down, we noticed the crowd were still behind us which was really good.

"My family was here, my brother got to watch me for the first time in like 10 years so that was really cool. It was a nice feeling to be home. We're home again [on Wednesday] so hopefully the crowd will come out and be as good as Sunday.

"You want to get familiar with your surroundings. You try not to concentrate on what rims you shoot on and what courts you play on, but it's nice to get the feel for this stadium and it's good to be on our home court."

The Capitals broke down footage of Bendigo's season to date on Tuesday morning, with guard Britt Smart anticipating the visitors will bring a fast-paced game plan to Canberra.

But Smart says "I don't think it's anything we can't match", adamant the Capitals have the tools to counter the Spirit's style.

The Capitals will be without Kelsey Griffin and Tahlia Tupaea for the second game in a row, leaving veterans Smart and Kelly Wilson to steer the ship alongside excitement machines Jade Melbourne and Britt Sykes.

"That's the perfect combination; fast and slow, old and young, experienced players and fearless players," Smart said.

"All these things kind of mix so when you need that execution, you have it. When you need speed, to pack a punch and have x-factor plays, we also have that.

"It's still the beginning of the season so it's not going to be perfect like that. That's just us trying to adjust and knowing when to be the speedy team and when to be the experienced and execution team.

"We want to play to our strengths, no matter who the opponent is. A part of the adjustment and being a good team is being versatile, being able to adjust and switch things up if need be, but also knowing we want to play to our strengths first and then go from there.

"We want to be flexible, we want to play two tempos, we can't just be stuck in one way because then that will get found out as well.

"Being versatile will give us the edge.

"Everyone is trying to find their rhythm. We're in the same boat, both coming in on Wednesday to look for a win and to head into the Christmas break on a high note."

WNBL ROUND FOUR

Wednesday: Canberra Capitals v Bendigo Spirit at National Convention Centre, 7.30pm.

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