The Lady Braves led the major semi-final by 13 points in the second term and by eight midway through the third term, but poor execution in the final quarter cost Bendigo dearly as the Spectres ran out 63-58 winners to book a home grand final.

The Lady Braves now face a cut-throat preliminary final against Kilsyth at the Schweppes Centre this Saturday night.

“We just didn’t play with poise,’’ a disappointed Lady Braves coach Bernie Harrower said.

“We shot the ball poorly and didn’t handle the pressure very well, but in saying all that we still nearly won the game.’’A three-point shot from Jasmine Finnigan with three seconds remaining could have tied the scores, but the ball wedged in between the backboard and ring.

The Spectres earned possession and made two free throws after the Lady Braves were forced to foul.

The Lady Braves’ three-point shooting cost them victory with the defending champions making just three of their 28 attempts.

“Nunawading double and triple-teamed Gabe (Richards) and that gave us a lot of open looks, but we just couldn’t make them,’’ Harrower said.

“If you look at the games we’ve lost this year we’ve shot poorly from the perimeter in each of those games.

“If we want to beat Kilsyth next week we’re going to need to shoot a lot better.’’Richards, despite receiving extra attention from the Spectres, was superb for the Lady Braves with 19 points and 20 rebounds.

Unfortunately, she didn’t get much support with Andrea Walsh (14 points) and Jasmine Finnigan (10 points) the only other players to score in double figures.

Lauren King had a sound defensive game for the Lady Braves, but she was restricted to just two points.

Kilsyth won through to the preliminary final after eliminating Launceston in Tasmania on Saturday night.

The Cobras have beaten the Lady Braves twice this season.