Shooting woes way heavy on Mavericks in State League debut

While the Mavericks were able to hold their own in the first three quarters, frustration on offense would end up being the side's undoing as they fell to a 71-33 defeat.

Maddison Routley was the side's best performer with 10 points, closely followed by Amelia Irvin, who finished the game with eight.

Despite the result, Murrumbidgee coach Josh Clyne felt their were plenty of positives that could be taken from their first game in the competition.

"They are a big association and are always well-represented in basketball, and we knew it would be a challenge," he said.

" I thought we did a good job on them for the first three quarters. Our shooting percentage was well down, and I think we got frustrated with that in the final quarter. They were able to get away, and they piled on some points, so I don't think it was a true indication of the game across the fourth quarter.

"We are disapointed with the final blow out but were pretty happy with competing for three quarters. We know we have a lot of improvement and we will be better placed for the matches coming up."

While the offence might not have been firing, Clyne felt the work his side did in defence showed the side has the ability to fight hard.

"We did everything we intended to do for the first three quarters, I know were trailing by 15 points at three-quarter-time but we never felt that the game was going to get away from it," he said.

"We have done a lot of work on our defensive structure and how we want to defend during games, and for the most part, we did a good job.

"They had some really good shooters in the team, and we limited them, but our offence wasn't working for us, and we weren't knocking our shots down, and that just eroded the confidence over the duration of the game."

This weekend, the side will hit the road for the first time this season for a doubleheader, and the Mavericks are looking forward to the challenge.

"We have training tomorrow night and I have been able to review the footage from the game and there are a lot of things we will be able to fix some things up quickly and are looking forward to heading away as a group," he said.

"We will head up on Friday afternoon and break the trip up just so we are fresh when we get there. We play Saturday and Sunday, so we look forward to having a good recovery in between games."

With it being the club's first venture into the State League, 2024 will be about laying the foundation for the future years.

"It's an opportunity for girls in our area because nowhere close offers that sort of level of playing," he said.

"It is a year of trying to establish the brand and get established in the State League and strengthen our position."

The Mavericks will take on Newcastle on Saturday before making the short trip to Maitland on Sunday morning.