Canberra Capitals star Carly Wilson has urged her teammates to stick together next year and earn redemption for a season she admits has been ''disappointing''.
Wilson is eager to prevent the squad breaking up on a negative note, with the Capitals set to miss the finals for the first time in seven years.
Canberra's season hit a new low with a 97-68 road loss to a super-impressive Sydney on Thursday night.
And guard Wilson wants the team to use the pain it's feeling now as a spur for next season, when it will be boosted by the return of superstar centre Lauren Jackson.
''It's an unspoken pact [to stick together], but it's hard to get focused on next season just yet,'' Wilson said. ''I know I'm certainly keen to keep the team together as much as we can.
''The way things have gone I don't think it's justified the way we've performed, and I think we owe it to ourselves to give it another go.''
The club has already begun preliminary negotiations with its core players, including Wilson, skipper Jess Bibby, Nicole Hunt and Marianna Tolo. Australian centre Tolo is the player Canberra may find toughest to re-sign.
The Canberra Times understands the club's reigning most valuable player is set to attract huge interest from overseas clubs.
''Tolo's such a phenomenal player and when you're talking about 'bigs', they're wanted so desperately in Europe and it's hard at the moment for the WNBL to compete with them money-wise,'' Wilson said.
''When you're six-foot-five you can make huge money over there, and it's something she may start considering.
''She loves it in Canberra and loves playing for the Capitals, and that will make it a really tough decision for her.''
Wilson played in back-to-back grand finals, winning one title, in her previous two seasons with Canberra. That has made the team's current predicament even tougher to accept, but she insists the side remains tighter than ever.
Canberra pulled off inspired wins against top-three sides Bulleen and Sydney either side of Christmas, and looked to be launching a charge. But a soul-destroying loss to Bendigo a fortnight ago kickstarted a three-game losing streak which ended its finals hopes.
Spirit guard Kristi Harrower nailed the winning basket with less than two seconds left in that match, and Wilson conceded it affected their confidence.
''I don't know if it affected motivation, but it definitely affected our confidence level,'' she said.
''If that shot had missed or one of our late shots had gone down, all of a sudden it's another game to our streak and we take that momentum into the next game.
''It's disappointing because I felt we had turned the corner, but since then we've taken some backward steps.''
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