IT might not have been the prettiest win of all time, but nonetheless Portland’s women’s basketballers came away with the victory against Mount Gambier in the Country Basketball League on Sunday afternoon, 67-59.

The result simply came down to the Coasters playing better for longer, as they won every quarter but by no more than three points.

To the Lakers’ credit they were able to stick around and keep the game close enough down to the wire, but at the end of the day Portland’s intensity through the full 40 minutes proved too much.

Their calling card so far this season has been their full court press defensively, and it was on show once more as the Coasters were able to continually create turnovers both in the passing lanes and by stripping the ball directly from Mount Gambier’s guards.

Scoring wise, Millie Jennings was right at the top of the pile, finishing with a game-high 16 points, while Portland also got notable performances from Heidi Jones, Tyleah Barr, Alana Strom and captain Sarah Tunstall who all had nine points.

For Jennings, this was a game which came down to her side’s ability to keep the pressure at a high level for the full length of the match.

“We work really hard on our full court defence at training, so it’s good to see the girls out there making the most of it in the game,” she said.

“Heidi and Katie (Zeunert) do a really good job up top there creating lots of turnovers for us, I love playing with them, they’re almost role models on the court in a lot of ways.”

Jennings is in her third season playing CBL and said while she’s got plenty of experience at this level, she thinks the entire group has the ability stand up on their own two feet.

“I don’t feel like I have to be too much of a leader for the other girls, everyone here is capable of standing up on their own and deserves to be here playing,” she said.

“We’re trying to compete for a championship again this season, so the experience of having already played in one before will be helpful, the last grand final was pretty crazy to be a part of.

“I think we’re building towards something good this season; it was a bit of a weird start but now we’ve got going I think we’ve got what it takes to go to that next level.”