In the American’s maiden head coaching position after having served developmental roles over multiple WNBA clubs, the weekend proved rather experimental more so than a precise gameplan.

Bench players were given plenty of court-time minutes, with Washington impressed with the responsibility his rookies had undertaken.

“Being able to have basically my bench – I don’t have any of my imports here bar Ally Wilson, who didn’t play [on Sunday] – get that extra experience, they know where they can improve in and I know what they can improve on,” Washington said.

“We can move forward because this is the first time I have seen my girls play live instead of watching videos.”

The Tornadoes coach was also content with the side’s 1-1 win/loss record from the weekend considering at least two roster spots are yet to be announced.

“I feel I can now go back as a coach, and analyse to see what we can improve on each and every one of my players,” Washington said.

Paige French, Bec Abel, Jayden Brazendale, Ishoa-Jade Cook, Aishah Anis and Jess Johnston ran the plays and took control of the court.

Washington believed their basics were in place and working on the “little things” would fasttrack the depth of his mostly teenage bench.

“You’ve got to make your shots and take advantage of what the defence gives you, but overall the effort from the girls is amazing – there’s no issue at all with that,” he said.

“They play hard. When I ask them to do something, they got it done to the best of their abilities, so I’m not too worried about when the season starts. When the season comes, we’ll be fine – don’t worry, we’ll be good to go.”