James Murphy
IT was a tough weekend for the Mount Gambier Lakers women.
Competing in Round 10 of the Country Basketball League season, a double header on the road dealt the Lakers two losses.
A lack of depth cost them on Saturday night when facing a tough Horsham Hornets outfit.
With just five players available the Lakers were under the pump and did well to fall by only seven points in the end.
A similar story on Sunday in Portland had Mount Gambier’s list bolstered somewhat, but another tight loss of eight points was dealt by the Coasters.
On Saturday the Lakers started strongly with a dominant first quarter.
They outscored the Hornets 23-11 to hold a handy lead at the change.
However, the tables turned in the second term and Horsham hit back with a 21-point quarter.
The Lakers were held to just 12 points for the term and at half time a slim three-point lead was all that remained.
The third quarter was a closer affair with only five points in it.
Again it was the Hornets who had the edge and heading into the final stanza it was a two-point game.
The final stanza was a duplicate of the third, with the same score from both teams.
Horsham shot 18 points to Mount Gambier’s 13 and as a result the guests suffered their third loss for the season.
The Lakers looked to Tenielle Human and Mikaela Horrigan on the night, with 19 and 18 points respectively.
Emily Dawe also reached double figures with a tidy 10 points, but in the end the lack of depth hurt the side.
Increased numbers took some pressure off in Portland on Sunday, but it was still far from a full lineup for the Lakers.
This time every quarter was toughly contested, with the margin not growing by more than three points at any break.
Just one point was the difference in the opening term and the Lakers were down 14-13.
A 17-14 point quarter followed which extended the Coasters’ lead to four.
The game remained there to be won but again in the third quarter the Lakers could not make inroads on the scoreboard.
They lost the term by three points before a strong finish had both teams shoot their biggest returns in the final stanza.
Portland scored 20 points to Mount Gambier’s 19, with the final score a 67-59 win to the Coasters.
There was no real standout under the hoop for either team, with the Lakers’ best output a 12-point effort from Human.
For Portland Millie Jennings topped the sheets with 16 points, while no other players made double figures.
The results put Mount Gambier in a precarious position, now sitting in fifth place with just three wins from seven games.
With a bye next round, the Lakers women will not return to the court until the new year, where they will need to buckle down if they are to stand a chance of playing finals.
