In the Centre: Perth Lynx training to be tough physically and emotionally after double loss on road
A five-day road trip is not something anyone ever looks forward to.
Coming off a heart-wrenching loss to the Dandenong Rangers, on Thursday we embarked on a trip that would involve six flights in five days, three time zones and, as we would later find out, two heartbreaking losses.
Our first game was against Townsville in the Tropical North. We went into the game having already won the series against the reigning champions.
Basketball giant Suzy Batkovic sat the game out due to nerve damage and we went into the game feeling confident. That may have contributed to our undoing. Without the focus on Batkovic, the Townsville Fire moved the ball freely and shot the lights out – going from an astounding 64 per cent beyond the arc.
They had scouted us well, and we struggled to compete with a younger, more energised Fire team than we had faced previously. The final score was 97-72, with six of the Fire scored in double digits, including three off the bench.
A defeated Lynx team returned to our hotel room that night. We had meetings with coaches and players, focused on turning our luck around. Unfortunately, we had less than 48 hours before our next match against the most physical opponents in the league.
Like Townsville, we’d already secured the series against the Canberra Capitals. The Capitals had added Olympian Marianna Tolo back into their roster after a knee injury had sidelined her for the past six months.
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The Capitals started strong. At the quarter, we were down 30-10. Even after winning the third quarter in what I would consider the fight of our lives, we eventually went down 92-60.
I expect that training this week will be tough both physically and emotionally as we work to get back on track.
Sitting second on the ladder, we will have to make some adjustments to our game in order to get the win at home over Sydney this Sunday at Bendat Basketball Centre.
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