Werribee Devils coach Brant Lowry has conceded that it has been a “bit of a tough slog” for his team in the second half of the Big V basketball women’s division 1 season.
The Devils were forced to make a coaching switch in the middle of the campaign when Lloyd Klaman accepted a job offer too good to refuse in Sydney, which has disrupted the momentum of the young team.
The players have tried their hardest to adapt to a slightly different playing style, but motivation is fast dwindling with finals out of the equation.
“We’re in a bit of a hard position,” Lowry told Star Weekly. “We were out of finals a couple of weeks ago and we changed coaches.
“We’re in the phase of trying to learn something and still win at the same time and compete.
“I came in a bit late coaching, I’m trying find a style that suits the girls, plus fit into what he was running and put a bit of my spin on it.”
The Devils were lifeless in a 67-39 loss to Keilor Thunder at the Keilor Basketball Stadium on Sunday – their eighth loss in nine matches.
They were not helped by the fact that key player Alex Moss was missing through injury and their preparation was limited due to illness to Lowry.
“We were just flat from the start,” Lowry said. “They came out and really blitzed us.
“They had a really good point guard who was quick and hard to defend and it put us on the back foot.
“I think once we get some scores on the board and we get that momentum flowing, everyone builds on that, but there was nothing to spark us today.
“We got down early, got a lot of fouls and it just put us in a hole we didn’t build out of at all.”
The stats were damning for the Devils.
They shot an abysmal 16% from the field and landed just one three-pointer from 16 attempts.
They were also careless with the ball, turning it over 26 times.
“We turned the ball over a lot early when we weren’t under a heap of pressure,” Lowry said.
“We struggled to find a way to score and that was to do with shot selection.”
The Devils remain confident of ending the season on a winning note.
They will host the Craigieburn Eagles – a team with an identical 5-14 record – at Eagle Stadium in the final game on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Werribee Devils are on the look out for a new men’s coach after Mark Hughes announced he will step down from the position at the end of the campaign.
The Devils were consigned to the wooden spoon in the men’s championship after a 109-93 loss to Ringwood on their home floor on Saturday night.
They will round out the season on Saturday night when Eltham Wildcats visit Eagle Stadium on Saturday night.
