AFTER a challenging road double last weekend, it's home sweet home for the Bendigo Spirit as they aim to ignite their WNBL season on Saturday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That road double followed a trip to Mildura the previous week for the Spirit in what was a 62-68 loss to Sydney.
Sydney will again be the Spirit's opponent on Saturday night for the clash at Red Energy Arena.
"It was a challenging road double last weekend playing in Perth and then stopping in Melbourne on the way home," Spirit point guard Kelly Wilson said this week.
"I think we're all relieved to be back home and the sole focus this week has been on beating Sydney.
"In all the games we've played so far we've had lapses and haven't been able to put four quarters together.
"Last Sunday against Melbourne we had a 17-point lead at one stage and ended up losing the game and that's not good enough in a league where every team is full of quality players."
Last Sunday against Melbourne we had a 17-point lead at one stage and ended up losing the game and that's not good enough in a league where every team is full of quality players
- Kelly Wilson
Already the WNBL games record-holder with her career tally now at 435, Wilson last weekend climbed to No.2 for the most assists all-time in the competition.
Wilson's seven assists across the two games against Perth and Melbourne now give her 1506 for her career.
She surpassed her former Bendigo Spirit team-mate Kristi Harrower (1503) and now has only Kristen Veal's 1617 in front of her.
"Kristi is someone I played a lot of my career with and I was the beneficiary of a lot of her assists," Wilson said.
"I've obviously played a lot of games, so when I hear of something like that, I kind of think, well, I should have a decent amount of assists."
While the Spirit are 0-4, Sydney heads to Bendigo with a 2-2 record.
Unlike their November 10 loss to Sydney when their offence stalled in the first half, this time the Spirit will have captain Kelsey Griffin in the line-up.
After missing the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury Griffin made a huge impact in her first outing against Melbourne last Sunday with a career-high 33 points and five rebounds to earn a spot in the WNBL Team of the Week.
"Nothing Kelsey does surprises me. The fact she can come out of doing however many months of rehab and have a game like that first-up should surprise me, but it doesn't," Wilson said.
"She has such a work-ethic, intensity and dedication to her rehab and just having her back brings confidence to everyone in the team.
"Kelsey was obviously our standout against Melbourne and it's up to the rest of us to step up and do a bit more as well."
Saturday's game at Red Energy Arena begins at 6.30pm.
