Two heavy defeats have made it a tough an initiation for Whittlesea Pacers in the championship division of the Big V women’s competition.
The newly promoted Pacers started against last year’s grand finalists, Hume City Broncos, and were given a basketball lesson in an 81-31 loss.
Then came a match against the up-and-coming Diamond Valley Eagles on Good Friday, and although the Pacers were within striking distance at threequarter time, they went down 80-58.
Tenille Cann top-scored with 19 points.
The first two matches come after the Pacers had a somewhat interrupted preseason.
After losing more than half of last year’s division 1 championship side, Pacers coach Brett Tidswell said the Pacers were signing new players just weeks out from the new season.
“A couple retired, a couple changed clubs and one left for personal reasons,” Tidswell said before Friday’s game.
“A couple of the younger girls went back to youth league.
“[American import] Kimetria Hayden has an Achilles injury and was unable to return to us.
“People who committed before Christmas then decided they couldn’t play so we had to find more players.”
Despite the tough preseason, Tidswell , in his first year as senior coach, believes the Pacers have the right mix of players.
“The two players who came into the program late, Cann and Ellie McLean, both played in state championship division before stepping down to play in division 1.
“Eliza Stylianou and Giulia Dinunzio were both originally from Whittlesea before going to Craigieburn and wanted another crack. All four of those players bring experience.
“I approached Maddison [O’Nial] as I’d coached her before at Sunbury. She has lived in the shadow of her sister [Emmie] but I think she has something to offer off the bench.”
The club has also signed US import Trudy Armstead, who missed the opening two matches but is expected to play this week.
“She’s a mediumsized player who is likely to play in the three or four position,” Tidswell said.
“She’s from Dallas, Texas and has had a stint overseas. It’ll be good to have another bigger body in the side. “
Tidswell said he was expecting it to take some time for the team to gel.
“Over the next few weeks we’ll practise hard and, hopefully, start to gel,” he said.
“Our aim is to be competitive and finish around midfield. You can’t expect to jump divisions and be in the mix straight away.”
The men’s side also suffered its second successive loss on Good Friday, also against the Eagles.
Outscored in the first three quarters before winning the last quarter by four points, the Pacers lost 8876.
Chris Kaba top-scored for the Pacers with 27 points.
