Basketball: Tamworth Thunderbolts women win one and lose one in Port Macquarie

But overall, coach Dave McCubbin knew the squad would come out of the weekend better for the experience.

Coming off their first victory of the year against Lismore at home on May 20, the Thunderbolts had begun to hit some form as they prepared for Saturday's clash against the Moss Vale Magic.

Their 59-55 win in Port Macquarie on Saturday afternoon was not as nailbiting as the scoreline suggests, and pleased McCubbin despite their sluggish start.

"It was really good coming up against a team like that and getting away with a win," McCubbin said.

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"We started a little bit slower than what we could have, but we chipped away at their lead and by the third quarter we led for the rest of the game."

While they began on a high, the Thunderbolts women were soon brought back down to earth in Sunday's game against the reigning premiers, the Canberra Nationals Academy.

The 89-49 defeat was "very hard", McCubbin said, but he knows the players will be better for the experience.

"You've got to learn from every loss ... then build from there," he said.

"Hopefully we can get a few more training sessions in. We've got four weeks until our next central venue and then we'll face them again."

The coach acknowledged that the players were "disappointed" in their performance against Canberra, but "happy with the result in the first game".

"There's a lot to be taken out of [the weekend]," McCubbin said.

"I just hope we can learn from our mistakes in the second game and get stronger."

The Thunderbolts men, meanwhile, played the Wagga Wagga Heat in Wagga on Saturday night with just three on the bench and slipped to a 96-70 defeat.

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