Heather opens the scoring to put Juniors on way to glory
St Mirren Senior Women continued their fine run of form with a National League triumph over Edinburgh University at The Lagoon.
The university teams have proved to be tough opposition following an influx of new players during the October intake of students.
And this was reflected in their changed lineup from the previous game in September where Saints won comfortably in the capital.
Without effective inside player Lauren McKinlay, St Mirren got off to a slow start as their opponents scored a quick lay up from the tip off.
Two free throws and a lay up from Maddie Ingamarsson got the home side back on track as the game flowed from end to end.
A free throw double from Iona Ross, who also set up captain Rebecca Cleary with a long pass for a basket, had the home side in the ascendency.
A lightning fast break from Nicole Davidson, followed by a steal and another two points from Cleary, had the university coach calling a timeout.
Ingamarsson was fouled in the act of scoring on the resumption and nailed the free throw to extend the home side’s lead to 16-5 as the Edinburgh side found themselves in trouble after only four minutes.
The solid start continued as Anna Mitchell hit a long basket after a fine pass from Cleary before she added another with a three pointer.
The game was being played at a furious pace which saw the foul count rise as a result.
Laura Collins drove for a lay up before a late three pointer from Pederzani reduced St Mirren’s lead to 27-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The frantic pace continued after the restart and Saints soon lost Nicole Davidson to a hip injury after a fall.
Baskets from Claire Dewar, Ingamarsson and Cleary had Saints 17 points ahead.
Africa de la Morena then played Cleary in for the basket of the match, which brought the crowd to their feet.
However, two three-pointers in quick succession by Edinburgh soon brought them back to earth again as the students mounted a fightback.
But a late double from de la Morena and a lay up from Kayleigh Sellars brought the Paisley side to the halftime buzzer 43-27 ahead.
Cleary got Saints off to a fine start after the break with an early basket before some unforced errors from the home side allowed Edinburgh to hit back.
Cleary then hit four unanswered points before their opponents again came back as they reduced the deficit to just seven points.
Coach Chris Cleary called a timeout and told his players in no uncertain terms that they had to up their game again.
Both teams traded baskets as the clock ran down with the buzzer finding the home team 63-51 up.
In the final quarter Iona Ross and the students traded three pointers before Leanne Renfrew nailed a couple of free throws to put St Mirren 72-59 up in what was an enthralling game for the spectators.
Kayleigh Sellers, Heather Ritchie and captain Cleary finished the scoring for Saints who found themselves winners 79-62 after their best performance of the season that cam against some tough opposition. St Mirren Junior Women bounced back from their recent defeat to Lady Rocks as they blew away Colliers in superb fashion.
Colliers, who only had six players in their squad, started well and took the game to the home side straight from the tip off.
However, Saints took control of the play and Heather Ritchie converted a shot from distance to give her side three points.
Kirstin Reed then drove to the basket and made a fine lay up to give St Mirren a 5-1 lead.
The Colliers coach immediately called a timeout before Ritchie struck again to increase the Paisley side’s advantage with a neat jump shot.
Coach Leanne Renfrew introduced Fiona Waddell from the bench – her return from injury – to inject some pace in the Saints attack as the game swung from end to end, with both sides scoring.
Two late free throws from Waddell was enough to give St Mirren a narrow 9-7 lead at the first break.
Some tough talking from the home coach at the break certainly had St Mirren fired up as international guard Laura Collins went on the offensive to score 10 points without reply.
This gave the home team a heathy advantage.
Colliers attempted to stop their opponents in their track but St Mirren played a high press and were rewarded with a fine lay up before young Cadette Heather Wilson nailed a three pointer to reaffirm St Mirren’s intentions.
Ritchie, Collins and Morven Robertson extend the home lead as St Mirren went 29-12 ahead with the half-time buzzer approaching.
St Mirren didn’t let up as the game restarted, with baskets from Waddell, Ritchie and Eilidh Parker starting to put the game out of sight.
Coach Renfrew took the time to rotate her bench and give much-needed court time to her younger players.
Neve Mitchell coasted through the Colliers defence to layup for two points before Heather Wilson and Parker, who was on fire, scored to give Saints a 5924 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Colliers managed to get a foothold on the game with a couple of baskets of their own, before Michell and a double from Kate Galloway put St Mirren 7336 ahead.
Both sides then traded baskets as the final buzzer approached. But two baskets from Morven Robertson and a fine lay up from Ritchie had St Mirren comfortable winners 87-48.