Canberra Capitals point guard Kristen Veal picked up the scoring slack left by the absence of sharpshooter Jess Bibby to help inspire a 10-point win against the West Coast Waves.
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Veal had her best game in her second stint with the Capitals with 17 points, while captain Abby Bishop had another powerhouse performance with 17 points and 17 rebounds in a 64-54 victory at the AIS Arena on Sunday.
The Capitals are now an even 3-3 on the season in the WNBL despite still being without injured duo Lauren Jackson and Hanna Zavecz.
Bibby also missed the game with a neck complaint.
Veal took it upon herself to become more aggressive on offence, going 5-10 from the field including three three-pointers to go with six rebounds and four assists in a quality all-round game.
"(Scoring) is not my role, but Bibby was out and I thought I make take a few more threes in her absence," Veal said.
"They felt good in the first half.
"It was nice, I've been practicing my shot and if I can keep doing that it will help the team out."
The 33-year-old is in her first season back with the Capitals after spending the previous six years with the now-defunct Logan Thunder.
"It's a very different structure and a lot of different style players that I've been playing with in the last six years," Veal said.
"I knew it was going to take some time to sink in and I'm glad it's starting to happen now.
"It's an exciting group and there is so much potential for me to be better because of this group."
It was the Capitals' third game in nine days and a vast improvement on Wednesday night's disappointing 76-60 loss to the Sydney Uni Flames.
The Capitals were in control for the majority of the game, only being tested early in the third quarter when the Waves went on an 8-0 run to reduce the deficit to two points.
"We felt like we had the upper hand most of the game, but as we've seen in this league, you can't count anyone out," Veal said.
"They're a quality team and they kept coming back, which makes it really nerve-racking.
"To be able to hold on was better for our development."
Bibby will be assessed this week, but is confident of being fit for the trip to Perth for the rematch with the Waves next Saturday night.
WNBL: Canberra Capitals 64 (Abby Bishop 17, Kristen Veal 17, Stephanie Talbot 12) bt West Coast Waves 54 at the AIS Arena.
