Victories against Dandenong at home and the Capitals in Canberra last weekend lifted the Spirit from fifth to third, but left Bendigo’s players drained and with just five days to recover before the toughest road trip in the WNBL.

Adelaide has lost just once at home this season and the Spirit will need to find a way to stop Australian Opals stars Suzy Batkovic and Abby Bishop tonight.

The Spirit then heads to Perth to play West Coast for the second time in two weeks on Sunday.

It is a scheduling nightmare for Bendigo, after its players struggled to a last-gasp win by one-point in Canberra.

“We were fatigued last Sunday and we were lucky to get out of the game with a win,” Spirit coach Bernie Harrower said.

The Lightning beat the Spirit by nine points at Bendigo Stadium when the teams met earlier this season, but this time Bendigo is full of confidence after winning five in a row.

Limiting the influence of Adelaide centre Batkovic will be critical to Bendigo’s chances tonight.

Batkovic leads the league in average points, rebounds and steals per game, while Bishop is in the top-10 in each of the three categories.

On Sunday, the Spirit travel to Perth to play West Coast, a team they have comfortably beaten twice this season.

Bendigo is aiming to finish third this season and Harrower said with six games to play the Spirit must win at least once this weekend.

Key players Gabrielle Richards, Deanna Smith, Kristi Harrower and Tess Madgen all pulled up sore from last weekend’s matches, but will play tonight.

Harrower, who got the Spirit over the line against Canberra with a buzzer-beating shot, missed the last clash with the Lightning, while Smith won the WNBL Player of the Week award last round.

Smith dominated Dandenong last Friday with 30 points, six rebounds and two steals, while she drained 13 points, brought down three rebounds and won three steals against the Capitals.

In her first season with the Spirit, Smith is averaging 15.3 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.