Rollers’ import blow
AFTER an impressive QBL win last week against the Capitals, the Rollers went down 78-61 to Rockhampton in a drama-filled afternoon at Carrara Indoor Stadium.
Gold Coast looked certain to gain an immediate boost for the clash, with American import Ariana Moorer set to make her long-awaited debut only to be told an hour before tip-off that her clearance hadn’t been received.
“We prepared for her to be playing so it was hard,” said vice-captain Sarah Ambrose.
“We had to take it as it is and we said that nothing was different because we’d been playing without her for the past three weeks so we took it as a chance to build on what we’ve been doing.”
After fighting their way back into contention late in the last quarter, a stray elbow landed the Rollers’ other American import Jacqueline Luna-Castro in hospital with a split head requiring stitches. Despite the result, Ambrose was impressed.
“One thing we’ve never doubted is our effort and energy,” she said of her side’s last-gasp comeback where they got within 10 points with less than four minutes left.
“We had a huddle in the last few minutes and as a group we said we need to make a push here so we did and we were happy with our effort.
“We had a list of key focuses before the game and we hit all those so regardless of the loss, we stuck to what we wanted to do.”
In yesterday’s other game, the Rollers men defeated Rockhampton 87-80.
Both sides now have a two-week break before an intriguing clash against local rivals the North Gold Coast Seahawks on May 31. “We’ll keep focusing on what we need to fix,” said Ambrose.
DOUBLE DRIBBLE: Friday