WITH Portland basketballers heading into their Country Basketball League match against Millicent on Saturday night after a thumping win over the same opponent just seven days prior, many would’ve been expecting a similar result this time around.

Sadly, it was not to be, as the Coasters fell 80-74 against a Magic side which welcomed back a handful of key players, most notably star player Jack Haggett who finished with a game-high 23 points.

To make the situation even tougher, the Coasters were taking a depleted squad of their own across the border, with the likes of Hayden Annett, Sam Peters and Logan Edwards all missing after playing the previous week.

This meant the side had to bring in Jay Finck and Bailey Hunter for their season debuts, while Jack Walsh made just his second appearance of the season thus far.  

In spite of this, the single-digit margin of defeat reflected a side which was determined to put up a fight, even in the face of a double-digit halftime deficit.

A big 24-12 third quarter spearheaded by Jackson Dunlop (19 points for the match) and assisted by Toby Jennings (15 points) and Aiden Rogers (14 points) saw the Coasters briefly take the lead, before fatigue and foul trouble saw Millicent regain the ascendancy by the final buzzer.

Coasters coach Rebel Noter said his side deserved to be proud of the performance they put in, regardless of what the score-line might say.

“Given the squad we took with us I thought the boys played very well,” Noter said.

“We played catch-up for most of the game… we were down by as many as 13 or 16 points at one stage so to come back and get the lead was a fantastic effort.

“We just didn’t hit some shots towards the end which cost us.

“The kids that came back in for them were very talented… Jack Haggett was a big factor for them… and I think we struggled with a lack of size as well.”

Foul trouble was an issue in the previous week’s matchup, however this time it was the Portland players who were being forced to the sideline, with Rogers and Jennings both exiting the game with five fouls.

“We were trying to trap and double team pretty hard, and when you do that, you’re leaving yourself open to committing fouls,” Noter said.

“You make the gamble to try and strip the ball and sometimes you’re going to get called for it.”

In spite of the result, he said there were a number of strong performances from his players individually, along with some good stretches of play from the team.

“I think there’s a lot we can take away from our defence in that third quarter… the guys know what they’re capable of on that end of the court,” he said.

“Jackson Dunlop played another solid game… he’s fairly consistent on both ends… and even though both Toby and Aiden fouled out they both contributed as well.”

Portland will now have a couple of weeks without games – not playing again until November 26 – with Noter saying it’s more important than ever for his group to stick together and get some solid training in.

“We want to get numbers at training… the guys need to get used to one another,” he said.

There were four other matches played during round six on the weekend.

Warrnambool went winless in its cross-border doubleheader, going down to Mt Gambier 92-60 on Saturday night and 82-72 to Millicent on Sunday.

It was a similar experience for Terang, beaten 63-53 by Colac and 79-57 by Horsham.

Ladder: Ararat Redback 100% match ratio (5 wins from 5 games); Mt Gambier 100% (4 from 4); Millicent Magic 75% (3 from 4); Portland Coasters 74.14% (4 from 7); Colac Kookas 42.85% (3 from 7); Terang Tornadoes 40% (2 from 5); Horsham Hornets 33.33% (2 from 6); Warrnambool Seahawks 0% (0 from 6).

Tough stretch good learning experience for Coasters women

IT hasn’t been the easiest fortnight for Portland’s basketballers in the women’s Country Basketball League, as they lost their second of two consecutive clashes against powerhouse team Millicent on Saturday, with the final score a lopsided 102-53.

It was always going to be a tough ask for the Coasters to produce a close game with Millicent gaining an even greater advantage with home court and players returning.

Yet even when faced with insurmountable odds, the team was still able to put their best foot forward, despite a brutal 35-3 opening term in the Magic’s favour.

Millie Jennings was the pick of the group, scoring a team-high 19 points, however it wasn’t enough to counter an incredibly strong opposition, spearheaded by the Winter sisters – Emily, Georgia and Alana – who combined for 65 points.

The high point of the match for the Coasters was their third quarter effort, in which they outscored the Magic 25-15, with coach Ellen Zeunert praising her team for pushing through under challenging circumstances.

“They got the jump on us in that first quarter… they ran a press and while they didn’t get a lot of steals, we ended up being rushed at our end, making it tough to score,” Zeunert said.

“I think we were a bit shell-shocked, even at quarter time, but I told the girls that they were better than what they were showing.

“To outscore them by 10 points in the third quarter I think was fantastic.”  

Zeunert was full of praise for what is an incredibly young group, saying that pretty much every player had done some good things to contribute to the side.

“You’ve got girls out there like Tigrha Cleary, Sienna Stone and Stella Rogers who are only 14 or 15 years old… even Millie only just turned 17 so it’s an incredibly young group,” Zeunert said.

“They came up against some of the toughest competition they’ll ever face until you get to NBL1 or even the WNBL and performed very well.”

As per usual, Tyleah Barr rated a mention for her efforts, while Lexie Petch’s play was another highlight.

“She was all over the place defensively… despite her small stature she makes a big impact,” Zeunert said.

“Katie (Zeunert) did a good job in a leadership role… she’s one of the more experienced players in the team.”

The team will now have a couple weeks off, with Zeunert to be out of town on a holiday, but while she won’t be there at trainings the team will continue to prepare for the coming weeks.

“We’ve got Surfcoast and Terang on the horizon… they’re teams we know we can beat,” Zeunert said.

“I believe this team is capable of being one of the three or four best in the competition alongside Warrnambool and Mount Gambier… it’s no disrespect to any of the other teams but I believe in what we have going.”

In the weekend’s other matches Mt Gambier defeated Warrnambool 48-44, Horsham thumped Terang 97-32 and Millicent toppled Warrnambool 81-73.

Ladder: Millicent Magic 100% match ratio (3 wins from 3 games); Mt Gambier Lakers 100% (3 from 3); Horsham Hornets 50% (2 from 4); Surfcoast Chargers 50% (2 from 4); Portland Coasters 40% (2 from 5); Warrnambool Mermaids 33.33% (1 from 3); Terang Tornadoes 0% (0 from 4).