Despite leading by 10 points with five minutes to go, the Capitals were run down by Townsville which stole the result with two clutch free throws from Rachael Flanagan in the dying seconds.

The loss was one of three for Canberra this season, while the Fire remains unbeaten through four games to sit second in the WNBL.

Graf said the key to beating Townsville this time around would be to dominate inside, and shut down the Fire's fast-paced offence.

''We've got to go to our size, we've got [Marianna] Tolo and [Tracey] Beatty, Jess McCormack, we've got to pound the ball inside and that's our advantage against this team,'' Graf said.

''They're a team that like to score in the 90s, we've got to reduce that, we've got to get them down in the mid-60s and control the tempo of the game.''

Last season's WNBL champions are looking for a return to the winners circle after Sunday's shock loss to the Bendigo Spirit.

The Capitals committed 19 turnovers and shot at just 54per cent from the free-throw line on the way to their third loss of the season.

Bendigo remained in equal third with the win, while Canberra dropped to fifth position.

Capitals skipper Kellie Abrams said her team needed to improve defensively ahead of tomorrow night's contest.

''We have scorers, we've got a good balance with our inside and outside game and really we just have to take care of everything in our defensive game,'' Abrams said.

TOMORROW

WNBL round six: Canberra Capitals v Townsville Fire at AIS Arena, 8pm.