The Chronicle

‘Neers claim maiden victory

- Anton Rose anton.rose@thechronic­le.com.au

They may have lost their coach but the Mountainee­rs women managed to rally around and snatch their first win of the QBL season.

The 64-44 victory against Gold Coast Rollers was a long time coming, and in their final home game of the season the ‘Neers were able to give their die-hard supporters, who have witnessed a tough 2017 campaign, something to finally cheer about.

But for the players, the reward meant so much more than points on the ladder just a day after head coach Rob Johnson resigned.

“It was a really great feeling to do it at our final home game,” captain Vanessa Weber said.

“To win by 20 points it was a fantastic result for all the girls and it was a really great performanc­e.

“I think there was a few tears and some mixed emotions, I just don’t know how to explain the feeling.”

The win lifts the Mountainee­rs off the bottom of the ladder and they now have a genuine shot at avoiding the wooden spoon should they better the Rollers’ results for the remainder of the season.

Their milestone victory seemed to take a lot out of the ‘Neers, who finished up their double-header round with a loss against South-West Metro on Sunday.

Going down 74-31, Weber admitted that Saturday night’s triumph had taken a lot out of the girls.

“We came in feeling really positive from Saturday night,” she said.

“We started off strong but we were quite fatigued, the previous game definitely took a lot out of us.”

The women will now hope to finish the season with another win, taking on the Rollers again this coming weekend.

 ?? PHOTO: NEV MADSEN ?? A WIN AT LAST: Mountainee­rs women’s import Francis Donders of the Netherland­s dribbles against Gladstone Port City Power.
PHOTO: NEV MADSEN A WIN AT LAST: Mountainee­rs women’s import Francis Donders of the Netherland­s dribbles against Gladstone Port City Power.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia