Adelaide Lightning coach Chris Lucas is under no illusions about the challenges facing his developing side in the WNBL.
The Lightning are off to an 0-5 start to the season after Friday night's 66-61 loss at home to Melbourne, turning the ball over 25 times to hand the Boomers a blowout start.
It's a different feel for Lucas, who joined Adelaide this year after taking the Townsville Fire to back-to-back championships.
But he's confident the Lightning will improve and says their rough start came as no surprise considering their young roster.
"It's not about results for us. It's a rebuilding program," he told AAP.
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"We've got 18-year-old girls in our group that probably wouldn't get a chance with any other group. We knew that wins were going to be hard to come by.
"At times we compete really well but fundamental errors and too many turnovers are really hurting us."
The loss to Melbourne was a disappointing way to mark the 250th WNBL appearance of four-time Olympian Laura Hodges, whose experience will be pivotal to the Lightning's success.
Lucas says a lopsided WNBL fixture hasn't helped his side, who were forced to play back-to-back away games in the first two rounds and will hit the road again next week to play the Perth Lynx.
"That hasn't made it easier, there's no question about that," he said.
"What we want to see is a balanced competition."
In the other Friday night games, Dandenong Rangers claimed their third win of the season with a 92-65 thrashing of Townsville, while the Sydney Uni Flames edged Bendigo Spirit 74-69.
The Flames followed that up with a thrilling one-point win over the Fire on Saturday night, while the Lynx claimed a 65-59 victory over the University of Canberra Capitals.
Melbourne capped off the round with a 71-67 win over Bendigo on Sunday.
