Trevor Jackson
ROUND 5 of the Country Basketball League season saw a strong victory for the Mount Gambier Lakers women.
The Lakers easily accounted for the Terang Tornadoes and should do the same this weekend in their return bout.
Mount Gambier will have the home-court advantage when they return to the floor after the Christmas/New Year break, plus a bye and will want to use that well.
Much depends on player availability, but the Tornadoes will need to pull something special out of the bag if they are to get close to the Lakers this time around.
Mount Gambier currently sits second on the ladder, just behind Millicent Magic, while the Tornadoes languish on the bottom rung with no victories to their name.
In that Round 5 clash the Lakers set the scene in the opening half.
By the main break the Tornadoes had put on just 22 points, while the Lakers had managed 43.
However, the home side could not have expected what happened next.
A third-quarter blitz from the Lakers put the game to bed, as they slammed on 26 points to just six.
The final stanza was an even contest, but by then the damage had certainly been done and the Lakers could afford to relax a bit.
Much of the scoring came from the hand of Sarah Ritter, who finished with 27 points, while Sophie Miles (16), Keryl Ousey (14) and Olivia Wormald (13) also reached double figures.
While some of those name may be missing this weekend, the Lakers are sure to have the firepower to claim the win and remain at the pointy end, just shy of the Magic.
The game tips off at 11am on Sunday.
