Canberra Capitals captain Abby Bishop has called on her "missing" teammates to stand up and be counted with their play-off hopes hanging in the balance.
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The Capitals (10-11) are still in the hunt for the post-season despite their hefty 27-point loss to the top-of-the-table Townsville Fire on Friday night.
To make the play-offs, the Capitals will likely need to win next Friday's final game of the season against the second-placed Bendigo Spirit and hope the Melbourne Boomers (10-10) lose to the Spirit on Sunday.
The Boomers finish off against the lowly West Coast Waves next week while the Sydney Uni Flames are also still in the mix.
The Capitals will have to do it without superstar centre Lauren Jackson, who has missed the past two games with a knee injury.
But Bishop said the team wouldn't use Jackson's absence as an excuse and they were more than capable of rising to the challenge.
"We need contributors to win games, and next week against Bendigo, we need people to step up," Bishop said. "It's been the story of our season.
"Unfortunately again yesterday it was Steph and me, and 'Vealy' contributed, which was nice to see.
"We still have a couple of people missing, which is not what we need at this time of the season. We need other players to give a little bit more."
Bishop led the Capitals with 23 points and seven rebounds in their 94-67 loss to the Fire on Friday night.
She received support from Stephanie Talbot (17 points, five rebounds and five assists) and veteran guard Kristen Veal had 10 points, but no one else was in double figures in scoring.
The Capitals will need to have a more balanced contribution on offence if they are to overcome the loss of Jackson.
The four-time Olympian made a substantial impact for the Capitals since returning to the team before the Christmas break.
The Capitals have won five of their six games with Jackson in the line-up, but are only five from 15 when she's not there.
"Even if she's playing on one leg, she's still going to make a huge difference, even if she's scoring 20 points or not," Bishop said.
"She's a monster out there and makes a difference on the rebounds and changes shots.
"It was nice having her out there, but we need other people stepping up."
The Capitals had no answer for the Fire's dynamic duo of Cayla Francis and Suzy Batkovic, who combined for 48 points.
