Coach Eric Hayes is rethinking his approach after Ballarat Rush suffered two losses by more than 20 points in South East Australian Basketball League competition.
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After a promising opening term, Ballarat Skoda Rush fell away to go down to Sydney Uni by 23 points at the Minerdome on Saturday night.
The Sparks’ 27-13 second term helped put the game back on the visitor’s terms, coming back from six points behind at the first break.
But positives for Rush included the return of Ashleigh Spencer from injury, who was among the best for the team with 12 points.
Import Amy Griffin also made an impact in her SEABL debut with 10 points, six steals and four assists.
A 24-point loss followed at the hands of Nunawading in Melbourne on Sunday.
Rush was again competitive in the first quarter, before the Spectres pushed out their winning margin in the second term.
“I’ve got to figure out some different things that we can do at training just to help us perform better on the court and a bit more consistently,” Hayes said after the games.
“As a coaching group we’ve just got to put some things in place to help us be a little bit more successful.”
Hayes was pleased with Griffin’s contribution in her first two games for the club, but said, with only four weeks of the season left, the team needed to get to know her strengths and weaknesses quickly.
“She brought an aspect that we haven’t had in the last weeks, just her attack on the basket and being active defensively,” he said.
Hayes also believed the group had benefitted from the leadership of Spencer, another key inclusion changing the dynamics of the group.
“She is a terrific player,” he said. “She works hard and reads the game well, so it’s awesome to have her back with the group and to have her out there performing.”