Bristol's Maher getting 'better and better' - Ward
Premiership Women's Rugby: Harlequins v Bristol Bears
Date: Friday, 14 February Kick-off: 19:30 GMT Venue: Twickenham Stoop
Coverage: Watch live on the BBC Sport website
Bristol Bears centre Ilona Maher is getting "better and better", says head coach Dave Ward before their final game of the regular Premiership Women's Rugby season.
The Bears travel to Harlequins on Friday night knowing they have to win - ideally with a bonus point - and hope that Exeter lose to Saracens on Saturday to retain any hope of staying in the top four and securing a semi-final spot.
USA international Maher joined the club in January on a contract until the end of March.
"She's massively keen for us to get to the semi-finals, she wants to play in some knockout rugby as well because she's getting better and better in terms of 15s and the experiences she's having," Ward told BBC Radio Bristol.
Olympic bronze medallist Maher has scored three tries in five matches for Bristol, after switching codes from rugby sevens before the Rugby World Cup this summer.
Her two tries in the 45-17 win against Exeter last weekend included collecting a long ball from Holly Aitchison and then holding off a tackle from England and Chiefs winger Claudia MacDonald to score.
"Claudia MacDonald's a world-class winger and for her to get that ball transfer and to dot it down before getting pushed out was great," Ward said.
"Obviously the ball from Holly Aitchison was pretty spectacular but she still had to go over and score it.
"For us, we're really happy with how she's performing and we want her to be a big part of the side as we move forward."
Bristol reached the final last season where they were beaten by Gloucester-Hartpury, but know their fate is out of their hands this time after losing to Trailfinders and Loughborough in their past three games.
While they are fourth in the table, Exeter in fifth have a game in hand and travel to Leicester on 21 February.
Bristol's trip to Harlequins pits them against a side who have already secured their spot in the top four and are chasing a home semi-final.
"It's going to be a real tough test against one of the in-form teams in the league away from home, but we have played well on Saturday [against Exeter]," Ward said.
"We played well in parts against Loughborough and against Trailfinders as well so we're not in a bad vein of form ourselves in terms of try-scoring, it's just our defensive effort [that] improved for the weekend and we'll look to base our performance off that again on Friday."
Ward said he would have to "pray that Saracens do a job" for them against Exeter.
"It's one of those where if we've done our part we can almost relax because the other stuff is out of our control," he added.
