BENDIGO Spirit coach Bernie Harrower has had enough of talking about how poor his side was last week.
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That’s why 3pm on Sunday can’t come around quick enough for Harrower as his side gets its chance at redemption when it meets the Sydney Uni Flames in the WNBL preliminary final at the Bendigo Stadium.
The two-time defending champions Spirit were thumped 82-63 by Townsville in last Sunday’s major semi-final in what was a performance Harrower labelled one of the most embarrassing of his long coaching career.
"We've had a very intense week of training, and after doing our video review there were a few of the girls who were embarrassed about their lack of effort and fight and now, Sunday becomes judgement day about whether they really want it or not," Harrower said.
"I've felt all year that we haven't played with anywhere near the intensity levels we have of the past and a lot of that is to do with the fact that we're going for three in a row, and that's why not many teams do it.
"It's difficult to maintain the intensity and hunger for three years... we've been up for a long time, but we've lost a lot of games this year that we wouldn't have in the past."
Harrower expects the disappointment of last week - particularly the second half - to sting the Spirit into action against the Flames.
Last Sunday's loss came on the back of the Spirit losing to Canberra by 10 points a week earlier in their final game of the regular season.
"Those two losses in a row have both been on the road," Harrower said.
"We're back on our home court this week and we've done a fair bit of soul searching. I'd like to think the group really wants to get some redemption because it was an embarrassing game last week."
While the Spirit is coming off a disappointing loss last week, Sydney Uni will be buoyed by its stunning come-from-behind win over Dandenong in the elimination final.
The Flames turned an 18-point deficit in the third quarter into an 89-80 victory, led by 36 points and 14 rebounds between Mikaela Ruef and Rohanee Cox.
"They will certainly be on a high, but we've had a good week of training... it's been one of the best weeks of training we've had, but we've got to take that onto the court on Sunday," Harrower said.
The Spirit hold a 2-1 advantage over the Flames this season.
Sunday’s game starts at 3pm, with the winner to play Townsville in the grand final on March 8.