Hornets raise the bar
Horsham Lady Hornets will again adopt a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude as they look to keep their 201920 Country Basketball League season alive on Saturday night.
The Hornets secured a south-west conference semi-final berth in a tough weekend of basketball against Geelong and Colac, but now face their toughest challenge to date: defeating competition benchmark Warrnambool.
The Lady Hornets will look to upset the Mermaids on their home turf at 7pm.
Coach Tony Sleep said he was proud of his charges for making it this far after a highly competitive women’s competition.
“There’s probably a few people who didn’t even expect us to make it,” he said.
“We said against Geelong, and again against Colac, we’ve got nothing to lose, so let’s go out and give it everything we’ve got. We did, and we will go out with the same attitude against Warrnambool.”
The Lady Hornets and Mermaids have played in two thrillers this season, with the Mermaids winning both times, by four and nine points respectively.
Sleep said his side would need to pull out all the stops – like it did with a season-defining game against Geelong – to secure a spot in the grand final.
“They are tall and quick and because it’s at their home court they should have a good crowd,” he said.
Sleep said he would watch footage from the sides’ previous encounters to come up with a plan of attack.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a team manager who records the games,” he said.
“If we can minimise a few points here and there it will make a big difference, and considering our last two margins, it would bring us back to an even keel.
“We will put a few things in place defensively to nullify a few points.”
Sleep said accuracy was among the Mermaids’ strengths, with their three-point shooters ‘many and varied’.
“Katie O’keefe and Louise Brown can shoot three to four three-pointers in the same game and if they get Nicole Gynes back from injury, they will have even more three-point shooters,” he said.
“Jae Leddin is very underrated and has had a good year, but then again, so have our girls. We will be right in the contest.”
The Lady Hornets trained last night and will have a final session tomorrow night.
Sleep said he would look to another strong team effort.
He said he expected Faith Mckenzie to play a key role, continuing her impressive season.
“Even if she’s having an off night she’ll still be really valuable to us,” he said.
“We said against Geelong, and again against Colac, we’ve got nothing to lose, so let’s go out and give it everything we’ve got” – Tony Sleep
“She gets at least 10 points and 10 rebounds a game. Caitlin Dumesny is similar. She slips under a lot of teams’ radars but still bobs up and shoots 15 to 20 points a game.”
Sleep said Olivia Jones was playing better as the season went along, peaking at the right time, while Georgia Hiscock was coming off a stellar performance after returning from injury.
“Georgia had a really bad ankle injury before Christmas and has been doing everything right to get herself right,” he said.
“She’s capable of some high scores, as we saw against Geelong. Then you’ve got Shannon Cross and Kara Shuttleworth, who do a lot of things that don’t show up on the stats sheet. They provide a lot of grunt and toughness for us.”
Sleep said his side’s younger players would also have their roles, with Grace Manserra impressing in representative duties in Albury and Imogen Worthy improving each week.
“She has been playing short minutes, but they are very effective and the ball is safer and safer in her hands each time she plays,” he said.
Sleep said he was thrilled his charges would have an opportunity to play finals.
“I’m so happy for the girls, because they’ve worked hard to be there,” he said.
“I can’t speak highly enough about them and their culture and how they’ve conducted themselves.
“They’ve really raised the bar this season and I’m really excited for them.”