The defending WNBL champions failed to back up their recent good form and fumbled their way to a 76-64 loss.

It ended Canberra's 26-match winning streak at Tuggeranong and was the team's third loss of the season.

The Capitals struggled throughout the match and while they could not find their top form, Bendigo took full advantage of the misfiring line-up.

Canberra coach Carrie Graf was scathing in her assessment.

''You have to be honest, we missed some critical block-outs down the stretch, our foul shooting was abysmal and there isn't a lot of positives out of that,'' Graf said.

''I don't think we had a star player, [Marianna] Tolo battled but she made some big errors.

''Our season is until Christmas and most people would anticipate we would beat Bendigo ... the polish is taken off our previous hard work when you lose to a team that on paper you should beat.''

The Capitals were blasted off the court by the rampaging Spirit after leading by just one point at the start of the last quarter.

Bendigo quickly turned the deficit into a lead and Canberra's attack fell apart as it tried to get back into the match.

Nat Hurst struggled in her battle with Australian Opal Kristi Harrower and the Capitals only had two players reach double-figure points.

The Capitals had the better of the play early before Bendigo went on a 19-2 run to swing the match in its favour.

The teams traded blows throughout the match and it wasn't until the Spirit's sparkling late surge that it was able to secure victory.

Tolo top scored for Canberra again with 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Jess Bibby scored 14.

But it was the Bendigo trio of Harrower, Kelly Wilson and Chelsea Aubry that did the most damage.

Wilson was on fire and finished with 23 points and was well supported by Harrower (16) and Aubry (12).

Graf conceded her team was still a work in process as it attempted to win back-to-back titles.

Despite the disappointing performance, the Capitals kept their place in the top five, but need to beat the Townsville Fire on Friday night to ensure they remain on track to make the finals.

''We had some good shots and we couldn't roll any in,'' Graf said.

''When you can't convert and you can't stop [them] you're not going to win a game.''