Tornadoes coach Derrick Washington says his players are still up for the fight despite a run of tough losses.
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Launceston fell to a pair of 32-point defeats at the weekend to NBL1 title contenders Geelong and Knox, with matters made worse by Brittany Hodges re-injuring a hamstring.
Washington was unsure whether his US import would return in time for Friday night's home clash with Melbourne Tigers, but was certain that his 3-12 side would strive to make the most of its final five roster games.
"The ladies are still resilient even though we had those tough two losses come this past weekend against the top three teams in the league," Washington said.
"I learned a lot about my players - what they can do and cannot do, but coming out and competing in every quarter, every half, every second.
"It was a good effort - obviously we've got to put the ball in the hole more but overall it was a good team effort."
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Much has been made of the Torns' change in fortunes between 2018 and 2019, with a near brand new outfit unable to replicate the performances of departed stars Lauren Mansfield, Lauren Nicholson and Ally Wilson.
Despite this, Washington has enjoyed his second season in charge at Elphin Sports Centre.
"Coaching is always enjoyable," Washington said.
"You can be very high like last year or low like this, but at the end of the day as a coach you need to continue to see where your team can get better every game and every training and try to teach the game of basketball - that's what I want to do as a coach.
"Even though the games haven't been the results that we've wanted, [I'm going to] just continue to teach the game, letting players know where they can be better offensively and defensively and just try to get better every game.
"I love to coach if we're winning or losing - that's the beauty of coaching basketball, you've always got to get better as a coach and help your players get better on and off the floor."
Friday's game starts at 6pm at Elphin, and will be followed by North-West Thunder's clash with the Tigers at 8pm.