THE Mount Gambier Pioneers women were on fire at the Icehouse Saturday night as they claimed a win over reigning Basketball SA Premier League champions North Adelaide Rockets to the tune of 25 points.
It was the perfect lead in to the night to set the scene for the men’s game to follow.
It was only a couple of months ago the side did not even exist, but that was certainly not noticeable on Saturday night.
American import and captain Amanda Frost was in scintillating form and showed a cool hand, with 17 first-quarter points to set the foundation for the victory.
Fellow American Pachis Roberts kept the scoreboard ticking over early as well, with six points of her own to go the first break up by 12.
But it was anything but a one-player show, with Emily Winter in on the act in the second term, with a strong performance to sink 10 points before the long break.
Roberts continued to fire, with a pair of three-point bombs and at half time the margin had eked out to 13 points.
The third term saw Frost and Roberts back on the board, while Maddy Wormald contributed six points, with three straight layups to stretch the margin to 16.
The trend continued in the final term, with the Pioneers running out 25 point victors.
Frost led all scorers, with 34 points to her name, while Emily Winter contributed 20 points and nine rebounds.
Roberts finished the night with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Frost also dished off five assists, while Russell, Winter and Roberts all had four each.
For coach Matt Sutton it was a big effort from the team and the captain.
“Amanda was finding herself in pretty good positions and her confidence was high,” he said.
“If you give a player like that space to operate good things will happen.”
Sutton was also impressed with Winter’s effort.
“She shot the ball well from the three-point line,” he said.
“She missed some around the hoop which is not like her at all, so she could have turned a really solid game into a monster game.”
While the Pioneers continued to build the margin and subsequent pressure quarter by quarter, Sutton said the game did not feel safe until late in the contest.
“They changed their strategy in the third quarter and got it back to six or seven points,” he said.
“We were playing a bit nervously in that period, then Amanda made a three and pushed it back out to 10 and we regained our confidence.
“There was certainly a period in the game where things were not going our way, but they are a good team, they are the defending champions.”
While Sutton said he understands the Rockets’ side is much different to last year’s championship roster, he still rates the team as a tough prospect.
“They still have very dangerous players,” he said.
“It was an important win for us.”
