By Lance Jenkinson
Werribee Devils coach Reece Potter is struggling to comprehend what happened to his team after half-time in its 87-48 loss to Keilor Thunder in the Big V basketball women’s state championship at Eagle Stadium on Sunday.
The Devils trailed by 10 at the mid-point of the game, but they were competitive in the first half and the signs pointed to a good battle in the second half.
Photo Gallery: Werribee Devils vs Keilor Thunder
What happened after half-time caught Potter by surprise. “The first half we were in the game and competitive and then we came out in the third quarter and were very ordinary,” he said.
“It was very one-sided and I can’t put my finger on why we were very flat.
“It was a two-and-a-half minute period before I had to call a timeout and then it was another two-and-a-half minutes before I had to have another timeout … I don’t think in all the time I’ve been coaching that I’ve had to call two timeouts in the first five minutes of the third quarter.”
Once the score started to blow out, Potter turned to his bench.
The Devils decided to give minutes to younger players and the experience gained was about the only positive to come out of a bleak second half.
“If we played our starting five until the end of the game, we might’ve been able to peg it back a little bit,” Potter said.
“It wasn’t worth the risk of injury in a pretty physical game against a tough Keilor team once the result was gone.”
With new imports on their way, Potter is hopeful this is the one and only time Werribee is subjected to a blow-out loss of this magnitude.
Alisia Jenkins is scheduled to arrive this week, while Alexyz Vaioletama is at least two weeks away as she is still involved in overseas competition.
Werribee (1-1) will entertain the Bulleen Boomers (0-2) in the third round at Eagle Stadium on Sunday at 3pm.
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