Hawthorne's warning: "we're going to get it together"

Feature image via: Madeleine Clark

The East Perth Eagles are languishing at the bottom reaches of the NBL1 West women’s division after five rounds and are yet to register a victory this season. The South West Slammers sit below them on percentage alone, but star import Laci Hawthorne has issued a warning to the rest of the competition.

The Eagles sent a scare through the camp of the Willeton Tigers on the weekend, just a week after almost pipping Perry Lakes to a victory. They may have lost to the Tigers by nine points, but there are plenty of positives to take into this weekend’s clash with ninth-placed Mandurah.

“I don’t think anybody in that locker room was happy after that game,” Hawthorne told Fast Break.

“Each and every single game I see improvement and that’s the best thing for us. We’re getting it together so just be patient, we’re going to get it together.

“We have had a rocky start but we’re getting better and better every single game, so just stay tuned. I think we’re going to start stringing together some wins so I’m excited.”

Hawthorne has come back to NBL1 West as something as a known quantity in the division following her debut campaign with Lakeside last season, but her role has shifted with East Perth – and her numbers have improved.

With fellow import Mary Baskerville holding down the centre position, Hawthorne has been given some added freedom to step out of the paint and onto the three-point line.

She’s still collecting boards in the same fashion as her solitary season with Lakeside, but she’s finding new ways to impact the game.

Hawthorne added 15 points and 20 rebounds against the Tigers, in a game where Baskerville managed to slow the ever-dangerous Foot Locker Player of the Week Melisa Brcaninovic. 

She says prior knowledge of a shift in role helped her prepare for this season with East Perth.

“The main thing I was working on in the off-season was my guard play, because I was aware before I came here there was going to be somebody in the five spot, Mary, so I don’t have to play the five all the time like normal,” Hawthorne said.

“I knew I was going to have to work on my handle and my perimeter game, so just being confident shooting the three-point shot is something I’m still working on but that’s something I tried to hone in on in the off-season.

“She (Baskerville) is a great player, a great person, everything like that. It was good to see her perform the way she did [against Willeton] because I feel like that is what she’s capable of doing every single game and everyone’s starting to see that now.

“I was really happy for her and her performance, I thought she played great.”

East Perth will tackle Mandurah on Saturday, May 4 at 5pm AWST streaming live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.