However, coach Peter O’Leary has been left stranded on the launchpad after the Blaze failed to fire in their final regular season outing against Goulburn.

The Bears produced yet another upset over Wagga on Saturday night, matching their 52-40 triumph back in June with a nail-biting 66-65 win at Bolton Park Sports Stadium.

It was a night O’Leary had earmarked for sweet revenge and a possible shot a securing second place on the ladder.

Now, he’s been left to grapple for answers in the wake of a second shock loss to Goulburn.

“I keep asking myself what went wrong, but I still haven’t found out what happened,” O’Leary said.

“We know all too well that the Bears aren’t a team to be underestimated, but our pre-game was normal and everyone was on the same page when we went out there to play.

“Then, suddenly, it was just really flat.”

Goulburn eased through a dominant opening half, restricting the Blaze to just seven points in the second quarter and stretching their lead to over 20 points at one stage.

“We scored just 14 points in the first quarter and even less in the second when we were blown off the court,” O’Leary said.

“It was an embarrassing half of basketball.”

It took a “heart to heart” during the main break to get the Blaze fired up and O’Leary can at least take some comfort from the ensuing fightback from his side.

“We got to within a point and had a chance to win it with the final play. Unfortunately, it didn’t come off in the end, but it’s good to see we can claw back from a deficit like that,” O’Leary said.

“We ended up playing really well in the third and fourth quarters, which was good to see, but I still don’t understand how we can score 28 points in one quarter against the same team that restricted us to seven points just before.

“We should never have let ourselves get into that situation in the first place.”

The one-point loss could be considered a timely warning for the Blaze ahead of their elimination semi final against Bankstown next month.

“It was a humbling loss … and it’s definitely sent a message for us to step it up,” O’Leary said.

Shakera Barnes continued her rich vein of form with a 25-point haul while Khiani Clark chipped in with 12 points against the Bears.  

While you’re with us, did you know that The Daily Advertiser is now offering sports and local events as part of its growing email newsletter service? Our sports email will keep the sports-mad up-to-date with a round-up of all the weekend’s sports action - sign up here.