Putting a stop to the Force
’Neers out to impress on the road
BASKETBALL: A frustrating start to the season hasn’t dampened the Mountaineers’ morale heading into tonight’s QBL fixture against Ipswich.
Toowoomba sits at 1-4 in 12th position on the ladder following last weekend’s 15-point loss to the Pirates after taking an eight-point lead into the first change.
Their fortunes could well be different, after both losses to South West Metro were in the balance.
Ipswich is a very winnable game, after the Force scraped in by a point against the winless Southern Districts Spartans last week thanks to a Garrett Hall triple with five seconds remaining.
Forward Kyle Harvey scored a game-high 34 points and collected 10 rebounds in the win, as he continues to average a double-double on the season.
For the Mountaineers, Jason Ebneter is expected to start again after impressing in the role last week.
He finished with 13 points including three trifectas in 30 minutes of game-time.
A big key to Toowoomba’s success will be their interior defence. They conceded 52 points inside the paint against the Pirates, eight more than their win over Gladstone.
The Mountaineers women have suffered a huge blow with Malena Washington set to miss the rest of the QBL season with an ACL injury.
In her five games to date she averaged 17 points, and her production will be sorely missed as they come up against an unbeaten Ipswich side.
This will increase the load on new import Donnaizha Fountain who made her Mountaineers debut against the Pirates with 14 points and nine rebounds in the heavy loss.