Canberra Capitals call on fans for their last stand in WNBL season

But whether they've got enough players to get them there is another matter.

The Capitals fell 103-95 against the Melbourne Boomers in front of 1486 fans - among Canberra's five biggest crowds of the season - on Saturday.

Canberra finished with just five fit players. Ask coach Kristen Veal to sum up the game and all she can think is: "Wow, ridiculous, outrageous".

Alex Bunton, Lizzy Tonks, Alison Schwagmeyer-Belger and Gemma Potter were all inactive on Canberra's bench this week. Emile Whittle-Harmon is recovering from knee surgery. Chloe Tugliach [knee] and Nicole Munger [concussion] were gone by the end of the third quarter. Rae Burrell was fouled out in the last.

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Yet still the Capitals matched it with a championship contender for an entire game. Jade Melbourne so nearly recorded another triple-double [18 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds] - while guarding Cayla George, mind you - and Shaneice Swain scored a team-high 25 points.

"I'm not sure if I've said stuff like this earlier in the season, but I've not been a part of that at this level. It was really fun to be a part of because of the way our girls responded. I just hope we've got enough bodies for next week," Veal said.

"We'll get the assessment tomorrow or Monday. We're definitely going to have to back off what we do at the start of the week and give them time to recover and mend a little bit, and hopefully have enough to play and have enough to compete. Perth is one game we've definitely been looking forward to getting back to after last time we played them.

"Fingers crossed we've got enough to get on court and compete. Muscle issues, concussions, calves. The seriousness of it, I'm not quite sure. We'll see where we're at on Monday."

Only twice in history have the Capitals finished a season with just two wins, a mark they will look better when the Perth Lynx roll into town for Canberra's final game next Saturday night.

Yet fans have kept streaming through the doors, and officials are pushing for a packed house before Veal builds her roster for 2023-24.

WNBA-bound guard Melbourne, Opals squad member Swain and surprise packet Bec Pizzey have been bright spots in a tough season - and Capitals general manager Lucille Bailie says their impact cannot be understated.

"What Jade, Shaneice Swain and Bec Pizzey have shown is those Caps qualities we've seen in championship seasons. They've delivered in spades this season and that resonates with our fans," Bailie said.

"[The fans] are with us for the long haul, the ups and downs of the journey. It's exciting. We're bottom of the ladder but I've kind of forgotten about that. For me it has just faded.

"I enjoy being courtside to watch what those players do. As GM, that's pretty satisfying and exciting to just see them deliver on brand Caps week in, week out."

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