PORTLAND’S women’s basketballers bowed out of the 2022-23 Country Basketball League season on Saturday, going down to premiership favourites Millicent 65-44 in their semi-final, in what was nonetheless a hard-fought encounter.

After falling behind 17-9 at the quarter-time break, Portland came back in the second term to trail by just four points heading into the main break.

However, the Magic came out firing in the third term, nailing a couple of three pointers plus more to push the lead out to double digits, where it remained for most of the match.

Despite the disappointing result, Coasters coach Ellen Zeunert said she was proud of how her team performed in Mount Gambier, saying her side “gave 110%.”

“They played great and left nothing in the tank,” Zeunert said.

“We were able to keep ourselves in the game in the first half, which was a great sign… unfortunately early in that third quarter they were able to get out of the blocks really quick which sealed the deal.

“The game was closer than the score reflected… it blew out a little bit in the last few minutes as we were taking quick shots to get back in it.

“I think we just got deflated at the start of the second half… other than that the girls played hard till the final buzzer.”

Zeunert added that regardless of the result, the experience of playing open age finals basketball had been an important one for such a young group.

“That was a real bonus… getting used to a more physical style of play which is allowed in the finals… it was great exposure for the group,” she said.

“I think our defence was fantastic, Millicent have scored at least 80 points in almost every game this season, so to hold them to 65 was a great effort.”

The progression this group of players – most of whom have not yet turned 18 – has seen over the course of the season has been out of sight.

Just a couple of months ago, the Coasters lost two consecutive games to the Magic by nearly 100 points combined, yet in this game they were within reach for most of the 40 minutes.

“It’s such a young group… they’ve got great promise for the coming seasons,” Zeunert said.

“Portland’s women’s basketball is in a good place.”

The stand-outs from this particular contest proved to be top-scorers Tyleah Barr (12 points) and Katie Zeunert (11 point), with their coach also praising Millie Jennings’ work on defence.

“She was guarding Jasmin Howe, who in my opinion is the best player in the competition, and she fought hard all game,” Ellen said.

Other matches

Warrnambool almost pulled off a dramatic upset in the other women’s semi-final, eventually falling down 48-46 to Mount Gambier in a heart-breaker.

The result sees the top two sides in the competition face off in what could prove to be an enthralling grand final.

In the men’s division, a 32-11 first quarter from Ararat proved to be too much for Millicent to overcome in their matchup, as Zac Dunmore and Ethan Fiegert combined for 50 points for the victors who eventually won 103-86.

They’ll face off against Mount Gambier, who did the job comfortably against Horsham, coming away with a 97-70 victory.

Both the men’s and women’s grand finals will be played this Saturday at Warrnambool Stadium, with the women’s match to tip-off at 5.15pm, while the men will get underway at 8pm.