THE Mount Gambier Pioneers women have maintained their winning streak, with a third consecutive victory at the Icehouse on Saturday night.
The side faced a tough South Adelaide Panthers, who sat above the Pioneers by percentage alone heading into the round six clash.
However, a consistent effort from the home team saw them up at every break and they finished the night with a tough 14-point win.
American import and captain Amanda Frost again led the charge with a team-high 17 points, along with eight rebounds and six assists.
The newest addition to the side, fellow American Pachis Roberts, has excelled in her opening two games with the Pioneers and she performed once more with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Melissa Russell and youngster Emily Winter completed the double-figure scorers, also with 15 points each.
Russell stood tall at both ends of the court as she snatched the most rebounds for the match, with a total of 10 – eight of which came from the defensive end.
In front of another big home crowd the game kicked off with a missed lay up from Frost, which saw the Panthers first to hit the board, as Brianti Saunders replied with a two-pointer to take the lead.
The Pioneers struggled with accuracy in the opening minute, but eventually found the basket when Roberts made a two-point layup to tie the game early.
Saunders replied for the Panthers with another two, but when Winter put the Pioneers in front with two free throws at the seven-minute mark the home side found some momentum.
From there Frost began to find the hoop frequently, while Maddy Wormald and Winter also chipped in.
With two minutes to go in the opening term the Pioneers held a 17-11 point advantage.
A three-point bomb from Roberts extended the lead, before Russell made a driving two-point layup to reach a first-quarter total of 22.
Saunders finished the term with a two-pointer, to see the margin at a close four points at the first change.
Fouls to both teams opened the second quarter, while a Frost three-pointer followed, before a three-minute dry patch saw the scoreboard untouched at either end.
Saunders broke the deadlock when she drove to the hoop for a two and from there the two sides traded blows, with a five-point margin at the long break.
The third quarter continued to be a tough grind and by the final change the Pioneers had extended the lead to just eight points.
A two-pointer each opened the final stanza, while Russell converted a free throw to see the margin at nine.
Winter hit the board with a floating jump shot to extend the advantage to 11 points, but some foul trouble saw the Panthers convert two free throws to chip back at the deficit.
However, the Pioneers maintained their intensity until the final buzzer and claimed the win by 14 points.
For coach Matt Sutton it was a pleasing result and a demonstration of how far the team has come in a short time.
“It is three wins in a row now, which is really pleasing,” he said.
“It is a good reward for the way the girls are going about their business
“I am happy with their effort and there were multiple contributors.”
However, Sutton said the game was far from perfect and there remains plenty to learn from the clash.
The game was filled with some impressive performances and for Sutton it was the defensive work which really stood out on Saturday.
“I thought Mel Russell was amazing,” he said.
“The way she was able to make a contribution at both ends of the court, particularly defensively, was really good.
“She had a big role on one of their better players.
“I thought Pachis did a really good job of defending one of their better players as well.”
He also mentioned some of the rising stars within the ranks and said he is happy with how the youth in the team is presenting themselves on the court.
“Emily Winter played a really good all-round game and Olivia Wormald got on the board and had 12 rebounds which is huge,” Sutton said.
The Pioneers will now carry some momentum into their final home game before their second bye, which will be followed by another double-header road trip to Adelaide.
Sutton is pleased with where the team is sitting and looks forward to its continued improvement.
“Their defence and intensity and willingness to do stuff for each other is really good,” he said.
“There is some chemistry on court offensively that we need to work on and part of that is just from having a new group.
“But once we get that on track and are on the same page I think we will be really dangerous.”
This week the Pioneers will face North Adelaide Rockets, who they met in the their debut game back in round one.
It will be the perfect opportunity for the women to see how far they have come, as they went down to the Rockets by just nine points in the season opener.
