By Tara Murray
Adjustments made by the Whittlesea Pacers has helped them get back on track in the Big V women’s division 1 competition.
After a solid start, the Pacers dropped three games in a row and brought them back to the pack.
They’ve bounced back the past two weeks with a couple of solid wins.
On Saturday night the Pacers were able to account for Western Port, 71-45.
Pacers coach Shannon Bodley was pretty happy with the result.
“We beat them last time on Anzac Day by a similar margin,” he said. “It was good for us after having a little slump and dropping three in a row.
“It was a combination of a few things. I was away and we had sickness go through the group so there weren’t a lot on the training track.
“We’re still gelling and I spoke about that last night [Saturday]. I’m seeing that team chemistry grow every week, it’s only game 11 as a group.”
The Pacers led by two points on Saturday night before a 19-7 second quarter opened up the margin.
They were able to build on that in the second half.
Bodley said the changes they had made offensively and defensively after the three losses had started to work.
Importantly, the Pacers have now claimed the head-to-head record with Western Port which could be important late in the year.
“We have to be able to compete with them and we send a bit of a message beating them by a large margin,” Bodley said.
“There’s a bit of a log jam and we want to get a home final no matter where we finish on the ladder.
“The first of those head-to-heads are ticked off.”
All 12 Pacers got on the court in the win with Indiana Bodley top scoring with 17 points.
Shannon Bodley said it was important not to rely on one or two players and have all options covered.
The Pacers will lose leading scorer and rebounder Meg Lucas at some point as she heads to college.
“It’s the next one up,” Bodley said.
But the Pacers have strengthened their line up with the addition of former WNBL Hayley Munro.
Bodely said Munro, who previously coached the Pacers, was like another coach on the sidelines.
“She originally came to the group as a training person to get some fitness,” he said. “That developed each week and we thought about her potentially playing.
“We asked the group if they were happy for her to have a run and everyone said bring her in.”
The Pacers have a bye this weekend for the long weekend, before a big run of matches.
