A DOMINANT third-quarter and a breakout performance from Rachel Maenpaa have helped the Albury-Wodonga Lady Bandits to their second win of the season, a six point triumph over the Canberra Capitals.
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Coach Michael Brookens said the win was a relief, after the Capitals came home strong, at one point closing to within four points, after the Bandits took a 10 point lead into the last change.
“The girls were really happy to get on the board, they’re starting to come together as a team, the mental strength needed is developing as well,” he said.
“We knew that Canberra would be missing a couple of their important players and that we would have to do our best to capitalise on that.”
It was far from one-way traffic though, with scores locked at 28-apiece at half-time.
The Lady Bandits shone in the third quarter though, outscoring the Capitals 20-13 after finding their way through the Canberra defence.
“They played a zone all night and it took us a while to adjust,” Brookens said.
“We made our adjustments at half-time and knew we were going to have to rely on our third quarter effort to pull away, and I think the improvement we made in the last few weeks came through then,” the coach said.
Rachel Maenpaa top-scored with 16 points and proved to be the difference between the two sides, while Teyla Evans was strong with 13 rebounds and 7 points.
“Rachel has had to adapt to a different role to what she’s been used to in the past, which has taken her some time,” Brookens said.
“The same can be said for a few of the girls.
“But the confidence is coming along now, there’s a better understanding of what it takes to win at this level, physically and mentally.
“Each player is focusing on what they have to do and it showed in the team’s performance away from home.”
At home to the Brisbane Spartans next Friday, Brookens said that mental preparation would be a key factor in staying on the winners list.
“We’re chasing this side to make the playoffs, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we can pick up a win,” the coach said.