Warrnambool Mermaids coach Lee Primmer is confident there is growth in defeat for his group.
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The Mermaids engaged in a game of chess with ladder-leaders Sherbrooke on Saturday but couldn't contain their rivals' depth on offence in the 86-67 defeat.
"It's certainly disappointing to lose, but I think the way we went about it, there is plenty of positives," Primmer said.
The mentor said his team had a plan to curtail Big V import Ariel Hearn's influence, which paid off initially when she failed to hit the scoreboard in the first half.
"Ariel was averaging 28 points a game, so we were going to run a little box and 1," he said of the hybrid man-on-man and zone defence. "We wanted to disrupt them as much as we could.
"At half time, we were down by nine but (Ariel) hadn't scored, so our plan kind of worked but a few others got open looks and made some baskets. The old saying, someone goes down, someone steps up.
"We had to make a decision whether to go back to man and put some stops on them as a team or stay in the box and 1. We mixed it up a little, but when we went back to man-on-man I think (Ariel) had two threes in three minutes. Then it's out to about 18 and we hold it fairly steady for the rest of the game."
Defensively they're a very good unit, and we've been able to score offensively against them.
- Lee Primmer
Bench points and shooting percentage proved a crucial statistic in the end, with Sherbrooke shooting 42 per cent to Mermaids' 31, while its bench had 24 points compared to eight.
"I'd encourage our bench to be more aggressive when they come on, and certainly look to score," Primmer said.
Teen starter Matilda Sewell led the Mermaids in the four spot, recording 18 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes.
"A double-double to a 15-year-old in a competition like this is pretty impressive," Primmer said. "She's growing week-in-week-out, she doesn't back down."
The division one competition's second to sixth ranked sides sit incredibly even, highlighted after the Mermaids dropped from two to six after just two losses.
"That's how tight it is," Primmer said. "And the team on top is clearly the benchmark with three more wins than anyone else."
Meanwhile, Warrnambool Seahawks extended its winning streak to four with a close five-point win over Coburg on Saturday. Ollie Bidmade has 27 points and 10 rebounds, Nathan Hardingham shot 16 points with 10 rebounds off the bench, while Riley Nicolson shot 11 with perfect accuracy.
The Mermaids and Seahawks host Melbourne University at The Arc on Saturday, with the first game under way from 5.30pm.
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