When Warrnambool captain Amy Wormald went down with an ankle injury early in the second quarter, head coach Louise Brown knew her side faced a tough ask against McKinnon.
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The Mermaids made a slow start, with the Cougars establishing a nine-point early in the opening term before Warrnambool clawed back to 19-23 at the first break of the Big V game at the Arc.
McKinnon took a six-point into half-time but another burst in the third quarter saw the Cougars stake out a 15-point buffer at three-quarter time.
And while Warrnambool lost 78-66 to McKinnon, Brown said there were plenty of positives to draw from her side's third defeat in a row.
Sixteen-year-old guard Juina Lual starred for Warrnambool with 18 points and three rebounds.
"Juina was our top-scorer tonight which shows us some really good signs in the future and for the club as a whole," Brown said.
But the Mermaids coach also heaped praise on 17-year-old guard Leah Bartlett, who finished with seven rebounds, six points, four assists and one steal.
"It's great those young girls can stand up in big games, score under pressure and be big contributors to our team," Brown said of Lual and Bartlett.
Brown said McKinnon's ability to punish Warrnambool during two lapses was a major factor in the loss.
"It was probably just our first and third quarters that let us down defensively with a five-minute patch where we let them get on a run," she said.
"Other than that we probably won the majority of the game. So if we can start to close that gap and consistently put in four quarters of good defensive efforts, that will hold us in good stead come the end of games."
McKinnon's most damaging players, according to Brown, were Emma Pearce and Jayde Cadee.
"Losing Amy really hurt us," she said.
"And it was a little disappointing to lose, but I suppose given where we've come from the last couple of weeks, there's some promising signs."
Brown said Wormald would be available for Warrnambool's away game against Whittlesea Pacers next week.
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