James Murphy
THE Mount Gambier Pioneers women split their NBL1 South double-header over the weekend with a win and a loss on the road.
Played as a First Nation’s round to celebrate NAIDOC week, the Pioneers donned Indigenous style guernseys.
They kicked off the round against the Diamond Valley Eagles on Saturday night, where a good team performance earned them a 25-point win.
Sunday’s match was a closer affair against the Sandringham Sabres, which resulted in a seven-point loss after an arm wrestle over four quarters.
Against the Eagles the Pioneers claimed the lead two minutes into the opening term and did not let up from there.
Coach Matt Sutton described his team’s performance as a good attacking game.
“We were happy to get our offensive mojo back in that game,” he said.
“We found a way to get inside and outside and we shot really well.
“We were really happy with that result.”
With no passengers, it was a strong contribution across the board which secured the result.
“I thought overall it was a pretty good team effort,” Sutton said.
“Hannah (Young) did a great job with her aggression and I thought Haliegh (Reinoehl) had one of her best games of the season.
“Overall I thought everyone made a contribution.”
Reinoehl scored 24 points for the match, with a flawless two-pointer percentage.
“We are happy with her ability to put the ball in the hoop and her defensive efforts are great too,” Sutton said.
However, it was Cassandra Brown who narrowly snagged the top score for her team, with 25 points.
Young and Sherrie Calleia led the game for defensive rebounds with six each, while Young also scored 22 points, with a 70pc two-pointer return.
On Sunday it was a less ideal result, with the Pioneers well in the running until late in the game.
It was not until the final minutes Sandringham managed to find the advantage, with only a handful of points in it throughout the four quarters.
The Pioneers held a two-point lead at three-quarter time, before an early surge pushed them up to a seven-point advantage with six minutes to play.
However, it was not enough to deny the fast-finishing Sabres the win.
They stole the lead with two minutes to go and held on for an 85-78 point win.
“We put ourselves in a good position to have a decent lead with six minutes to go,” Sutton said.
“We just didn’t have the resilience or focus I suppose to hold that one out, which was disappointing in the end.
“We made our run at the start of the fourth and they made their run to close the game out.”
However, he said there was plenty to learn from the game.
Hopefully those lessons will be enough to see the third-placed Pioneers weather the storm which fast approaches, with a tough run home to finish off the minor rounds.
“We are happy to be in the position we are in, but our run home is as tough as you could ask for,” Sutton said.
“Everyone is in the top group and everyone is fighting for a play-off position.”
That begins with a home game against the fourth-placed Nanawading Spectres this Saturday.
The Pioneers bested them on the road back in Round 7 by six points, but they were without star player Alice Kunek.
Sutton expects her to take the court this week in what will be a mighty challenge for the home team.
“It is going to be remarkably tough,” he said.
The game tips off at 6pm at the Icehouse, followed by the men’s clash.
