On their home-court at the Red Energy Arena and without Tess Madgen and Kelly Wilson, the Braves faced a challenge from the Pioneers who had an early 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter.

Cassidy McLean responded at the start of the second quarter with two three-pointers within the first two minutes to bring the Braves within striking distance.

By the half-time break the Braves were back and just one point shy of the Pioneers after outscoring their opponents 20-11.

Control of the scoreboard was back-and-forth in the third quarter with both teams scoring 21 points to take the same one-point margin into the final quarter.

McLean again was the star for the Braves, sinking several shots and most crucially a pair of free-throws in the final seconds to secure the three-point 81-78 win.

Related: NBL1: Pioneers end Braves men's winning-streak

McLean, who played the full 40 minutes, put on one of her best offensive performances of the season with 26 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Abbey Wehrung also played all four quarters to finish with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, followed by Megan McKay on 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Braves women's coach Mark Alabakov said it was a gutsy victory from the entire team. "It was probably the best win that I've been a part of since coming to the Braves in regards to our ability to overcome," he said.

"Even with two of our starters (Madgen and Wilson) out of the line-up, I never thought that we wouldn't have a chance and never did we pack up mentally."

"It was a similar sentiment last week against Nunawading (Braves def Spectres 82-70), we only had seven players and were without Tess and we still believed we had enough to do what it takes to win."

Related: Taking the coach's path: Mark Alabakov

Alabakov praised McLean for going above and beyond for the team when needed in what he described as "fearless Cass".

After enduring an ACL injury in 2019 and sitting out for around 12 months while recovering, Alabakov said the 23-year-old put her faith in the Braves program to get herself back to her best level.

"There's no doubt that her skills came back quickly but mentally it was a bit longer for her confidence in her movement patterns to return," he said.

"However, she is back and always brings a strong competitive edge to the court which I refer to as the fearless Cass."

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