Posted on 23 April, 2018

The Lady Cobras undefeated start to the season has ended, as they were stunned on Saturday night at home by the Melbourne Tigers, 71-93.

With stars Steph Blicavs and Jasmine Gill making their much anticipated regular season debuts, the Lady Cobras looked out of sorts from the get-go, finding themselves in an early 12-0 hole and playing catch-up the remainder of the night. With Blicavs absent due to national team commitments and Gill having arrived in Australia earlier in the week, the Lady Cobras lack of preparation as a complete unit was evident on both ends of the floor in the first half, as they recorded a season-low 23 points to trail 23-46  at the main break.

And while the Lady Cobras found some rhythm offensively in the second half, a lack of defensive chemistry saw them struggle to get stops late as they fell to 3-1 on the season.

Kilsyth head coach Sam Woosnam was disappointed with her team’s second consecutive slow start, with the Lady Cobras also finding themselves in a double-digit hole last week against Frankston. Though they were able to recover from last week’s deficit to win easily, the Lady Cobras were taught a harsh lesson on Saturday night by a talented Tiger team that simply did not let up on the offensive end.

“We were punished for our slow start by a better team.,” Woosnam said.

“We cannot expect to win games if we start with no energy, and this has been a problem in previous games this season so we need to get it sorted.”

“Full credit to Melbourne for taking us out of what we wanted to do – they played a great game and really highlighted our weaknesses.”

In her first game of the season, Blicavs shook off illness to finish with 15 points off the bench, while Gill recorded eight points and three assists as she started in place of Chelsea D’Angelo. Hope Terdich led the team with 16 points and fellow-reserve Jenna Verhoef-Jenkins added a spark off the bench as she finished with 11 points in just nine minutes of play.

Although they suffered a 22 point defeat, the alarm bells aren’t ringing for Woosnam’s team just yet, with the Lady Cobras head coach expecting her group to experience some struggles early on as they add two of the league’s most dynamic players into the rotation.

“Saturday’s game highlighted where we are in regards to preparation.” Woosnam added.

“That was a great test to have so early in the season, and collectively as a group we know where we are at and exactly what needs to be done to get to where we want – and need – to be.”

“We’re happy to have our entire squad here now and looking forward to practicing together and building as a team so we can perform to the standard we expect.”

Lady Cobras will look to bounce back on Saturday night when they take on the Dandenong Rangers (6pm) at home as part of our annual Junior Domestic Night. All Kilsyth Junior Domestic Players who wear their team gear will receive FREE ENTRY to Saturday night’s games, with the VYC Women opening the evening against Ringwood at 4pm, and the SEABL Men capping the night as they play host to Dandenong at 8pm.