Mum Murray gets back in the groove
EVEN as excitement built up for her imminent WNBL comeback, Mia Murray knew the process would be a gradual one.
The Townsville Fire guard has returned from a two-year break after she became a mother for the first time, and already she has been able to put together plenty of minutes in her first two games.
Against Perth and Canberra she amassed 22 and 29 minutes on court respectively, a credit to her acceptance early on that her rise back to professional basketball would not happen overnight.
At first it was running and pilates, while consulting with doctors to determine what exactly her body could handle.
It was only mid-year that Murray was finally able to get back on the court with coach Shannon Seebohm, and the progressive approach has paid dividends given the condensed nature of the season.
However this week is set to be an even tougher test, with four games in the space of six days — beginning with tonight’s contest with Sydney.
Murray said the Fire were not looking ahead at the daunting week in front of them, but were intent on the here and now and putting the Flames to the sword.
“If you told me this is what we would be doing I would have thought you were crazy, but it is what it is,” Murray said.
“WNBL I think is one of the toughest leagues around and I’ve had to get going pretty quickly.
“I think the challenge of it is not looking too far ahead and focusing on what’s in front of us. If we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves we’ll start to panic and look at the negatives of it all.
“Everyone pulled up fairly well. We were fortunate to have a couple of days in between games so we were able to prepare and make sure we recovered.”
One of the biggest positives to come from Townsville’s loss to the Canberra Capitals was the team’s exposure to physical basketball.
And according to Mia Murray, a similar baptism of fire is expected to come their way from the Sydney University Flames. Only this time, they will be ready.
The former Fire champion got her first
taste of what her return to the WNBL would entail, with the 78-67 loss to Canberra the Fire’s only blemish from the road trip to Mackay.
In Sunday night’s clash, it was discipline which cost the young Townsville contingent ultimately, with fouls throughout the opening three quarters putting a mountain of pressure on the hometown favourites.
However Murray said there was good news to this setback — it was fixable in a short space of time.
Now that the lesson has been learnt in the campaign’s early exchanges, she said they can rectify it moving forward.
“Going into the game I knew it would be a physical battle. Canberra Capitals are known for being tough and physical and they’re not the reigning champs for nothing — they’ve instilled that in their team culture,” Murray said.
“I think we’ve got a lot to learn very quickly about discipline and making sure our players are staying on the court, and a little bit more discipline offensively.
“It’s not all doom and gloom. We’ve come away with a lot of positives from the road trip.
“In a season like this we don’t have a lot of time to dwell, we look forward and concentrate on Sydney.”