Warrnambool Mermaids are enjoying a three-week break after making an emphatic start to the Country Basketball League season.
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The Mermaids, sitting on top of the ladder, have four wins and one loss this season.
Coach Katie O'Keefe said her team wouldn't play this weekend or next because Hamilton and Portland withdrew from the competition just weeks before it started.
O'Keefe said the break had come at a good time.
"Last weekend was really hard on the girls physically and also because of the travel," she said.
"We'll have this week off to recover from the big weekend."
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The Mermaids scored a 94-73 win against Geelong United in Geelong on Saturday.
The next day they secured a thrilling 74-70 victory against the Horsham Lady Hornets at Horsham.
O'Keefe said she was grateful to have a dynamic squad with a mix of youth and experience.
"We've got experience, talent and potential," she said.
She said the experienced Jae Leddin and Nicole Gynes played crucial roles in a physical battle with Geelong.
She also praised the intensity of her young players.
"They just go and go," she said.
O'Keefe added her team was quite different on Sunday because players were unavailable - she has about 20 players to draw on.
She said teenager Leah Bartlett played some stellar basketball against the Lady Hornets.
"She just stepped up and played bigger than she had to," she said.
The Mermaids will return to training next Wednesday but there is plenty to keep their players busy in the meantime.
The Mermaids under 18s team - which includes many of the CBL players - will head to the Horsham junior basketball tournament this weekend.
Meanwhile, O'Keefe's daughter, Hannah, plays in the Mermaids under 12s B squad and her husband Simon coaches that team.
The Mermaids will play their next game on Saturday November 30 against Geelong United in Warrnambool.
It's been a tough start to the CBL season for the Warrnambool Seahawks which lost two games on the weekend.
The eighth-ranked Seahawks have a weekend off before returning to play Ararat RedBacks on Saturday November 23.
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