Marquee recruit Rachel Jarry is in danger of missing the Canberra Capitals' must-win clash against Townsville after being concussed at the team's only training session of the week.
Jarry was a notable absentee from the Capitals' heartbreaking loss to Adelaide 80-77 on Wednesday and is racing the clock to prove she is fit to play against Townsville on Friday night.
The Capitals will be playing their third game in six days and trying to end a four-game losing streak when they play Townsville at the National Convention Centre.
Jarry, a tough-as-nails player, is a key cog to their hopes of ending their losing woes, but the coaches are taking a cautious approach after she copped an accidental elbow at training earlier this week.
There are no official concussion return to play protocols in the WNBL, but the Capitals are wary of Jarry's health and are taking medical advice on her availability.
Her absence leaves a big hole in the Canberra squad, but they got within three points of toppling Adelaide despite fighting a 20-5 foul-shot count against them.
Coach Paul Goriss is rallying his players after losing their past two games by a combined four points. The Capitals haven't won a game since the opening weekend of the season.
"Int his situations where there's a 20-5 free-throw count, you've got to play a perfect game [to win] and we didn't do that," Goriss said of the Adelaide clash.
"But we played some of our best basketball in the second half ... we take confidence from how we finished the game.
"I have full confidence we can bounce back and play good basketball against Townsville. We obviously don't want the season to get away from us, we need to requite ourselves very quickly."
The Capitals had four players in double-figure points and nine of the 10 players scored, but they are still searching for the right mix on the court.
The Capitals haven't made finals since 2011 and losing to Townsville would be another blow to their hopes of ending the drought.
A gruelling travel schedule has also drained the Capitals, who have been able to train as a team just once in the past week.
They flew to Adelaide on Wednesday morning, played on Wednesday night and then arrived back in Canberra on Thursday to recover before playing Townsville.
The Capitals suffered an 11-point loss against Townsville two weeks ago, but guard Abbey Wehrung is confident they can turn that result around in Canberra.
"We've got a quick turnaround so that helps with the focus going straight [to Townsville] ... we're pretty keen to get a win," Wehrung said.
"The schedule is a big difference to last year but I think we're doing pretty good with monitoring the work we're doing.
"The sting from tight losses is what's going to fire us up for the next one ... It's about belief, but we're a new group and we're still learning to play together."
WNBL ROUND FOUR
Friday: Canberra Capitals v Townsville Fire at National Convention Centre, 7.30pm. Tickets available at the door.
