By Lachlan Onions
IT is finals time in NBL1 South basketball and the Mount Gambier Pioneers women’s team will host Geelong United in a blockbuster qualifying final on Friday night.
The stakes could not be higher as a win will book a home preliminary final in two weeks, while the loser is set to host a semi-final next weekend.
The Pioneers have been flying this year and finished second on the ladder with 17 wins from 22 games.
Mount Gambier Pioneers women’s coach Matt Sutton was pleased with his side’s efforts this campaign and was looking forward to a coaching in a packed-out Wulanda Recreation Centre.
“We worked really hard during the year and it is a good reward for all of our efforts but we have to keep a lid on it and focus on a really big game,” he said.
“It is awesome to play at home and the crowd is going to be fantastic.
“We hope it can be a really big boost for us.”
Geelong has also been a consistent side this season and won 16 games this campaign.
Sutton is under no illusions of what he is up against and is prepared for what should be enthralling contest.
“They are really talented and have really good size,” he said.
“So our ability to compete on the rebounds and protect the paint will go along way towards success.”
Geelong and Mount Gambier have met twice this year, with wins split one apiece.
United claimed an 85-74 win at the Geelong Arena in Round 5 against an understrength Pioneers line-up.
Geelong then made the trip to Wulanda in Round 11 where the Pioneers put on a clinic to claim a monster 94-59 win.
During that clash, Cassandra Brown was electric and scored 39 points which included an astounding 11 three-pointers from 15 attempts.
Despite the emphatic win the Pioneers picked up last time these two sides met, Sutton expects a different clash this time around.
“We had two players out and they had two players missing as well, so it is not a game really to fall back on given that both teams will be looking a lot different,” he said.
“We will use their most recent games to scout and be ready.”
With Zitina Aokuso recently making her debut for Mount Gambier, the Pioneers are now operating at full-strength and the team has been in superb form in the lead-up to finals.
“The girls are doing a good job of competing really well and following the game plan as well as sacrificing to help each other out,” Sutton said.
“So we are pleased with our form at the moment.”
Miela Goodchild has lit up the Blue Lake City in her first season with the Pioneers and has been one of the best players in the conference, averaging 25 points per game.
She has been supported by Sherrie Calleia and Isabella Brancatisano, who have formed a lethal combination in the backcourt.
Off the bench, the likes of Aokuso and Imogen Rock will be pivotal assets this finals series, while the impact of imports Brown and Haliegh Reinoehl has made Mount Gambier a force on both ends of the floor.
Looking at this weekend’s opposition, Ella Tofaeono, Eve Braslis and Sarah Elsworthy will be key players for Geelong.
Tofaeono has averaged a double-double every game at center with 11.9 points and 11.3 rebounds this season.
Elsworthy and Braslis have been focal points of United’s attack, averaging more than 16 points and six rebounds each per game.
With the Pioneers now firing on all cylinders, they will prove to be a hard team to beat with home-court advantage set to play a major part when action tips-off at 7.30pm on Friday night.
