Bendigo Bank Spirit Vows To Put WNBL Loss Behind Them In Their Next Crucial Encounter

Bendigo Bank Spirit forward Nadeen Payne says the side has no choice but to forget last weekend's frustrating loss to Perth Lynx. It was a historically bad weekend for the Spirit in Perth. Their 41 point loss was the heaviest in 10 years in the WNBL, while their 106 points conceded was also the biggest in club history. Payne said players were expecting a tough week on the practice court as they look to rebound against Sydney Uni Flames at Bendigo Stadium this Friday night. That began with an intense two-hour training session on Monday night, ahead of individual 90-minute footage reviews of the game on Tuesday with coach Simon Pritchard. Payne, who scored nine points against the Lynx in the unfamilar off-guard role, believed there were obvious areas for improvement, even without the benefit of a video review. "We had a lot of turnovers, our defence wasn't very good and we just didn't come out ready in the first quarter," she said. "You could blame it on a lot of things, but we've decided to just scratch that game. "We'll review the tape ... I think we got a bit of a shock coming out of the Christmas break. "Perth on the other had did really well. The were really aggressive and really attacked us, we couldn't really contain them. "It's frustrating." The Spirit will be minus injured starting point guard Kerryn Harrington against the Flames, who could be strengthened by the inclusion of three-time Olympian Belinda Snell. The former Spirit star has not played for five weeks with a knee injury, but is rated a strong chance to return. In the wake of last weekend's 67-108 loss, Payne said the Spirit had no other choice but to look forward rather than back. "Knowing it's only one game and that it's never happened to us before, we won't dwell on our loss," she said. "But there is definitely lessons to be learned from the game.Ó Article: Bendigo Advertiser Photo: Akuna Photography