Sabres end Pioneers winning streak

Emily Winter Crop Dsc 654720190706  TBW Newsgroup
AGGRESSIVE: Mount Gambier Pioneer Emily Winter was aggressive in her drives to the hoop, which saw her among the top scorers for her team in its seven-point loss to Sturt Sabres on Saturday night. Picture: TREVOR JACKSON

Emily Winter Crop Dsc 654720190706 TBW Newsgroup
AGGRESSIVE: Mount Gambier Pioneer Emily Winter was aggressive in her drives to the hoop, which saw her among the top scorers for her team in its seven-point loss to Sturt Sabres on Saturday night. Picture: TREVOR JACKSON

AN eight-match winning streak came to an end for the Mount Gambier Pioneers women on Saturday night when the Sturt Sabres brought the heat to the Icehouse in round 18 of the Basketball SA Premier League season.

The 70-77 loss puts the Pioneers in second place and although they are guaranteed a playoff position, a win would have gone a long way towards ensuring a home final or a second chance in the post season.

Saturday’s result was far closer than the previous encounter between the two teams back in round one, where the Sabres claimed a convincing 41-point victory.

However, the Pioneers were disappointed to fall just short of a win, especially heading into a clash with ladder-leader Forestville Eagles this weekend.

Coach Matt Sutton said the first half of the game was solid, but his team was unable to adapt in the second half which resulted in the Sabres taking the lead.

“We are a bit disappointed to lose, but in saying that Sturt are a tough team and they will be there at the end I think,” he said.

“Our first half was exactly what we needed, but I think we let ourselves down in the third quarter.”

“We did not make the required adjustments and shot poorly.

“We settled for easy options, opposed to doing the work to create some better opportunities.”

The first half of the game was tight, with the Pioneers holding a slim three-point advantage at the first change.

In the second quarter the lead changed hands four times, but at the main break the Pioneers remained ahead by three points.

However, the Sabres came out firing in the third term to snatch the lead with a couple of two-pointers and hold it for the rest of the match.

Heading into the final term the Pioneers trailed by 10 points and were only able to reduce the margin to seven by the final buzzer.

Despite the loss there were positives to come from the match, with a more even spread of contributors compared to recent games.

American import Pachis Roberts top scored for the match with 22 points, while she also managed 11 rebounds – seven from the defensive end – to secure a double-double.

Sutton praised her defensive efforts on Sturt powerhouse Kylee Smith, as Roberts held her to just six points – a far cry from her 20.3 point average.

Youngster Emily Winter also stepped up and put in a solid effort after a few quiet games.

Sutton said she put in an “aggressive” performance, scoring 12 points and pulling in 12 rebounds to also finish the night with a double-double.

Captain and American import Amanda Frost played a selfless game to record the most assists for the match with eight, while she chipped in with 19 points of her own and five rebounds.

Rounding out the double-figure scorers was Maddy Wormald, who backed up her efforts from last week with a 13-point game.

Looking ahead to this week Sutton said the team will work on a few defensive things in preparation for the Eagles, which will be the Pioneers’ final minor round game of the year.