THE countdown to Bendigo Spirit’s 2018-19 campaign has begun in earnest.
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As the clock continued to tick down to the club’s season opener against Melbourne Boomers at the State Basketball Centre on October 13, Spirit players, officials and sponsors gathered at Bendigo Town Hall on Wednesday night for the official launch.
Bolstered by plenty of fresh faces, the Spirit hopes there are plenty new results too, following a 2017-18 season in which the team finished in last place with a 4-17 record, three wins behind the next worst teams.
With two pre-season games still be played in Perth this weekend, the early signs have been promising.
A 58-50 win over Dandenong Rangers in Shepparton last weekend improved the Spirit’s pre-season record to 3-3.
That record includes back-to-back wins against the Rangers – 80-77 and 58-50.
Fourth-year coach Simon Pritchard said he continued to be encouraged by his team’s early development.
“Our defence was really solid (last weekend) keeping them to 50 points, and in those 50 there were two flukey three-pointers at the end of the shot clock that were lucky,” he said.
“Realistically we kept them to 44 points, which was the strongest message to come out of the weekend.
“Kara (Tessari) continued her development, getting back into the one spot.
“She didn’t play that spot with the Braves, so she is getting a few minutes there under her belt, which will be great for backing up Nat (Hurst), who scored well.”
The Spirit continue to spread the load on offence, with four players tallying double points and one ending the contest with nine.
Pritchard said the only slight concern was a knee injury to Louella Tomlinson, who’s expected to make a quick recovery.
The Spirit players will elect their captain this weekend, with seven-time WNBL champion Hurst, Tomlinson and 2017-18 season MVP Nadeen Payne among the leading contenders.
Payne will be the only starter from last year’s line-up returning, with 10 new players in total, including three development.
Pritchard said second import Jamie Scott would arrive next Wednesday, after being part of Canada’s team, which finished seventh at the world championships.
Scott averaged 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in her limited role, which included a high of 10 points against China.
“She will take a week or two to settle in, but we hope she is ready for the first game,” Pritchard said.
“She didn’t get a whole lot of court-time (at the world championships), but it was a good experience for her.”
She will join experienced international campaigner Bec Tobin, who has been in Bendigo since late-August, as the team’s two imports.
