PORTLAND’S women’s basketballers continue to go from strength to strength in their Country Basketball League season, putting on a dominant display in their matchup with Colac, winning 92-48 on their home court at Portland Basketball Stadium.

The Coasters were able to break the game open right from the outset with their aggressive full-court defence, as they utilised the speed and agility throughout their line-up to generate plenty of turnovers.

It got to the point where the Kookas were struggling to cross half court offensively at times, with the likes of Millie Jennings, Heidi Jones, Lexie Petch and more continually winning the ball for their team.

Meanwhile, Coasters centre Alana Strom was a dominant force at both ends of the court, sending away plenty of shots at the rim while creating some of her own.

While the Kookas were able to find some points more consistently at stages, nonetheless the Coasters continued to build on their advantage through every quarter.

Their top scorer on the night was Tyleah Barr, who poured in 18 points including three three-pointers and proved to be simply un-guardable for her opponents.

In addition, Jones, Jennings and Petch’s efforts on the defensive end were rewarded with points of their own, as the finished with a combined 38 points on the night.

In a rare feat, all 12 Coasters players hit the scoreboard, with their captain Sarah Tunstall saying it was a fantastic all-around performance from the group.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we got there, no one dropped their heads at any stage even when the shots may not have been falling, it was just really well fought out,” Tunstall said.

“Everyone got their opportunity out there and played their role on the court and had a chance to do their bit, which was fantastic.

“Apart from having a few too many fouls while we press up the defence has been great; the pressure has been right up there.

“I guess it’s a case of the girls picking their spots and figuring out when the best time to make a move is, it’s something for us to work on for sure.”

Tunstall said it’s been a really good overall start to the season for the group, with the enthusiasm for the game right up there in terms of numbers at training and available on game days.

“I think we’re a pretty strong contender for a finals spot at this stage, the girls have all been putting in at training,” she said.

“I think the mix of young and old has been a real positive for us, it’s just been a case of trying to get that to gel together in the right way.”

On her selection as captain for this season, Tunstall said that while she’s “pretty fresh to it” she feels she’s growing into the role.

“I just like to keep things really positive, obviously it was a bit of a weird start to the season, but I think there’s a lot to be excited about,” she said.

“Rebel (Noter) has been a great influence as coach along with some of the other experienced players, the way he lets us problem solve out on the court rather than him just telling us what to do, he gives us that freedom.”

While the Coasters will now have another week off before a stretch of games before Christmas, Tunstall said it would be good to have a couple more games back on home turf after their stretch of away games early in the season.

“It was a pretty tough stretch at the start so we’re just looking forward to some more games back at home before the Christmas break,” she said.