By Trevor Jackson
THE Mount Gambier Pioneers women dropped down to sixth place on the NBL1 South ladder after a close loss to top-placed Keilor Thunder in Round 9 of the season.
In another tough contest, the Pioneers played catch-up all night.
They trailed by three points going to the first break, despite an early flurry of scores.
Sherrie Calleia opened the scoring with a three-point bomb, before Haliegh Reinoehl followed up with a pair of free throws.
Zitina Aokuso chipped in with a two-point basket to go 7-0 up.
That soon changed when the next three baskets went the way of the Thunder, but Calleia and Isabella Brancatisano chipped in with two-point baskets to maintain the lead.
A pair of three-pointers followed for Keilor to open a six-point margin, before a triple to Reinoehl closed it down.
Aokuso hit the final basket of the quarter to keep the Pioneers close.
The second term saw the Thunder take a bit more control, but the Pioneers remained in the contest and trailed by nine points at the main break.
From there the Pioneers took the game up to the top side, with an even third quarter not changing the margin.
Heading into the final stanza nine points down, the Pioneers looked to rally and close the margin.
They did achieve that to the tune of five points, but not enough to claim the win.
Aokuso topped the Pioneers score sheets with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Brancatisano chipped in with 19 points.
Calleia (14) and Reinoehl (12) also reached double figures, with Reinoehl also pulling down nine rebounds and Calleia dishing off eight assists.
