WARRNAMBOOL Mermaids coach Louise Brown is hoping to suit up in their Big V play-offs campaign.
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The former WNBL-listed guard has played in the ladder-leader’s past five games, bringing her season total to seven.
She is unsure if she will make the trip to Wodonga for the Mermaids’ final regular season game on Saturday, with her son Jaylen to undergo surgery in Melbourne on Thursday.
Brown, who guided Warrnambool to a 75-60 win over Collingwood All-Stars on Saturday night, said she was determining whether she was required to hit the floor one more time.
Experienced pair Renee Tuck and Ellen Zeunert will step up to coach if needed.
“Jaylen, my little fella, is having a big operation in Melbourne,” Brown said.
“If I don’t have to go (to Wodonga) I won’t and if I do to qualify, I will do the big trip to Wodonga and then head back.”
The Mermaids, who will be without Amy Wormald and Carly Pulling due to netball commitments, can’t be dislodged from top spot.
The women’s division two competition will run a six-team finals series, with the top-two rosters given the opening week off.
Best-of-three semi-finals and grand finals will follow.
Brown is hoping the Mermaids finish their regular season with a tough test against a Wodonga outfit which has improved after a horror start.
“They’ve turned their season around,” she said.
“They’ve picked up a couple of players. In the first five or six games, they were getting pumped by 40 or 50 points.
“Now they’ve caused a couple of upsets and are only getting beaten by small margins.”
The Mermaids’ fast-start against Collingwood pleased Brown.
“It was one of the best quarters we’ve played,” she said.
“It was 33-6 at quarter-time. Everything worked and went our way.”
Meanwhile, Warrnambool Seahawks put in a gallant performance against top-placed Terrill side Keilor Thunder, falling 78-72.
Xavier Johnson-Blount drained 30 points to be the Seahawks’ most damaging contributor.
Seahawks coach Matt Alexander said it was a gutsy, confidence-boosting effort from his team.
“It was not too bad considering we only played Alex (Gynes) in the first half,” he said.
“We won the second half, so that was rewarding.”
The Seahawks host Shepparton in their final home and away round.
Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
