A KEY injury and the weight of a third-straight back-to-back finally added up for the Albury-Wodonga Lady Bandits on Saturday night, going down 75-47 to the Sydney Uni Flames.
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Import Toccara Ross was absent after sitting out the second half of Friday night's game in Albury due to injury, leaving the visitors with just two on the bench to face the improving Flames.
But as they've done all season, they didn't let their off-court misfortune get them down, blasting out of the blocks with a 21-12 opening quarter.
It was one way traffic from there on out though, with the Lady Bandits limited to just 26 points for the rest of the game.
What I took out of this weekend was that these girls are extremely positive about their experience playing for this team.
- JIM WILSON
Ross’ absence robbed the team of much-needed size and strength.
After winning the rebound count on Friday night, the Lady Bandits struggled on the glass against the Flames.
Adijat Adams (16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Emma Mahady played the full 40 minutes, while Steph Gorman (15 points, 7 rebounds) played will with barely a minute of rest.
Coach Jim Wilson said the combination of Ross’ achilles injury and a tough game on Friday night had added up for his young squad.
“The first quarter was one of the most exciting I've watched them play, we were really positive, our offence was good,” he said.
“Sydney made some adjustments after that, but I think we just ran out of petrol tickets in the end.
“The girls had played a couple of tough quarters the night before without Toccara, and the youth of the group was a factor as well.
“I'm pretty proud of how they went about it though, it probably wasn’t the result they deserved.”
Further complicating matters for the Lady Bandits was the absence of Olivia Barber, who missed both games due to commitments with the NSW All-Schools competition in Perth.
Jovana Bukvic started in place of Ross, while both Casey Ardern and Breanna Green played plenty of minutes off the bench.
“What's great is the commitment the young kids have to this group – we didn't get the result, but the sun will come up tomorrow,” Wilson said.
“What I took out of this weekend was that these local girls are feeling extremely positively about their experience playing for this team.
“Other teams have a height and strength advantage over them every week, but they still compete hard.
“You have to remember that these are all Albury and Wodonga players.
“Both associations should be proud of their players and the pathway they’ve taken.”
Wilson was unsure of whether or not Ross would miss games sue to the achilles injury, but said leaving her out on Saturday night was a precaution.
The Lady Bandits return to the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre on Friday to face the Ballarat Rush.