By Trevor Jackson
IN what could be described as an upset, the Mount Gambier Lakers women advanced to the Country Basketball League grand final after an impressive performance against the Warrnambool Mermaids on Saturday.
The Lakers travelled to Warrnambool for the game and returned with a 77-50 victory and a grand final berth.
The result was impressive considering the Mermaids finished top of the ladder after the minor rounds, while the Lakers were down in fourth spot.
Three strong quarters set the win up for the Lakers, who hit the ground running and never backed off.
An 18-9k first term set the scene, followed up with a 24-13 second quarter.
By then the Mermaids were in trouble, but were not able to make any inroads into the lead in the third term.
Instead, the Lakers pushed on with a 21-11 term and all-but put the game to bed.
While the Mermaids fought valiantly in the final stanza to outscore the Lakers by three points, it was far too little and way too late to have any impact on the outcome.
In an impressive game, youngster Tenielle Human was in ominous form with 28 points for the night.
Nikeisha Facey also reached double figures with 13 points.
The Lakers will now face Portland in the grand final, after the Coasters easily accounted for the Horsham Hornets.
