By Lachlan Onions
THE Mount Gambier Pioneers women’s team will look to bounce back from last week’s defeat when it travels to Geelong and Melbourne for an away double-header this weekend.
The Pioneers have been in impressive form this campaign and won their first five games before they suffered a defeat at the hands of Ringwood last weekend.
Looking at Mount Gambier’s roster, Miela Goodchild has been a revelation this year and has been averaging an impressive 26 points per game so far.
In her last two games, Goodchild has scored 61 points and grabbed 22 rebounds and will be pivotal for Matt Sutton’s side this weekend.
The Pioneers will be without captain Cassandra Brown due to injury but the likes of Haliegh Reinoehl and Isabella Brancatisano will look to fill the void.
Reinoehl has averaged 14 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season and has stepped up the workload in Brown’s absence, with 33 points across the two games against Keilor and Ringwood.
Brancatisano has been another quality addition to the Pioneers’ line-up this season.
The guard has been a consistent performer with at least 12 points in every game this campaign and a season-high of 23 which came against the Casey Cavaliers.
Sherrie Calleia and Imogen Rock are the other two players which will make up the likely starting five for the Pioneers this weekend and both are a threat from beyond the arc.
Calleia has a three-point shooting percentage of 40.9, while Rock leads the way for Mount Gambier at 42.1 per cent.
Looking at the Pioneers’ opposition, the Geelong Supercats currently occupy 12th place on the NBL1 South ladder, while the Melbourne Tigers are 15th with two wins from seven games.
Mount Gambier will need to be wary of Geelong’s Ella Tofaeono, who is one of the strongest rebounders in the competition.
Tofaeono averages 17.4 points and 14.6 rebounds per game and was dominant against Frankston last weekend with 25 rebounds and 22 points.
Another Supercat to watch will be Sarah Elsworthy, who averages 19.2 points per game.
As for the Tigers, Lily Carmody scored 22 points last time out, while Samantha Simons has been a consistent performer this year and averages just under 20 points per game.
Mount Gambier will play Geelong on Saturday evening with the game set to tip-off at 4.30pm ACST and will then face the Melbourne Tigers at 12pm ACST on Sunday.
