THE dream remains alive for the Mount Gambier Pioneers women, after an electrifying overtime victory in Saturday night’s Basketball SA Premier League first semi final against Eastern Mavericks.
Down by 11 points midway through the final quarter, the Pioneers tore up the floor with their trademark high work rate to close the gap before the end of regulation time.
A three-point deficit remained when a timeout was called with 33 seconds on the clock.
As time wore down, the score remained untouched, until captain Amanda Frost fired from beyond the arc to drain a three-pointer and tie the game with six seconds to play.
That came thanks to an offensive rebound from Maddy Wormald after a missed shot from American import Pachiyaanna Roberts, with the former swiftly making the pass to her captain, who made the shot.
The Mavericks regained possession and a frantic attempt from star Carmen Tyson-Thomas from outside the three-point line missed its mark and the Pioneers sent the match into overtime.
After being on the back foot all game, coach Matt Sutton said it was not until the extra time he felt his team really held the upper hand.
The five-minute period was opened by a two-pointer from Tyson-Thomas, who top-scored for the night with 37 points, but Pioneer Melissa Russell answered with a jump shot of her own to level the playing field.
Again Wormald stepped up at a crucial moment, with a three-pointer scored after a defensive rebound from Emily Winter, which gave the Pioneers some breathing room.
It was short lived as the Mavericks converted two free throws shortly after to trail by one point, but when Winter made a two-point layup and Roberts converted two free throws of her own, Mount Gambier was out to a five-point lead.
The Mavericks replied with a two and applied heavy pressure to the basket, eventually finding another two-pointer from Kedeisha Kartinyeri to make it a one-point game with 58 seconds to go.
Two missed shots could have put the Adelaide side in front, but a defensive rebound from Winter sent the ball back down the court, where it found itself in the capable hands of Roberts.
She drove to the hoop and made a layup to ice the game with eight seconds to play and hand the Pioneers a nail-biting three-point victory.
Sutton said it was a “surreal” end to the match and he was amazed by how it unfolded.
“It was probably one of the best games I have ever witnessed or been involved in,” he said.
“It was a pretty remarkable win.”
He said the resilience of the side all year and the ability for the girls to back themselves in any situation came to the fore and they did not back down until the final buzzer.
“It took a lot of courage to do what they did and a little bit of luck did not hurt,” Sutton said.
“It was pretty amazing.
“The character of the group, their toughness and how brave they are on the court, it will be admired.”
The match was close, but the Pioneers trailed by a handful of points at every change, until the final term where they found another gear to tie the game.
“The game was reasonably even, but it felt like it was in their control for a big portion,” Sutton said.
“We would make some runs and then they would make a run to get it out further.
“It just felt like we could not quite get over the hump.
“But with the fortunate luck which fell our way, we ended up with a really good shot that sent it into overtime and that was probably the point which gave us the momentum.
“I think that was the first time we really gained control of the game and you could see it in the body language of the girls.”
When that final buzzer did sound, Sutton said the moment was “pretty special”.
“They were delighted and you could tell they were a little bit amazed at what they had just done,” he said.
Aside from her shot to keep the game alive, Frost top-scored for the Pioneers with 30 points, while also made six assists and pulled down five rebounds.
Roberts achieved a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Winter contributed 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
However, it was the efforts of Wormald which received plenty of praise from Sutton.
She scored a career-high 23 points and pulled in seven rebounds, with some clutch plays to help her team to the win.
Russell was also strong in defence, while Olivia Wormald was the sixth player to take to the court and gave her all despite fewer minutes.
Looking ahead to this week the Pioneers face a preliminary final clash against Forestville Eagles, who they played a few weeks ago in round 19 of the minor season.
That match was a two-point win to the Pioneers and another close contest can be expected.
Win the game and they will take to the grand final stage against the Sturt Sabres, lose and everything they have built this year will go unrewarded.
