Coach Matthew Paton couldn’t hide his pride in his players after the Hoop City Geelong United Supercats Women produced two NBL1 wins within 24 hours while still coming to terms with the death of Nick Forde.
The assistant coach died suddenly last week ahead of a home-road double-header against Knox and Keilor.
Geelong United was able to channel their emotions to beat the Raiders 82-47 at Geelong Arena on Saturday night before seeing off a second-half surge from the Thunder on Sunday for a 77-66 victory.
“Not that you can take the occasions of grief and loss out of what the team went through this weekend, but in the context of the season and how important this weekend was, it really helps set us up,” Paton said.
“Dare I say it, a team with less mettle may well have seen the emotional turmoil as a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“I think they found strength in it (Forde’s passing) to bring themselves together and lift one another up, and with that came a cohesion for the majority of the weekend that was visible on the court.
“I’m extremely proud. We’ve all gone through a real rollercoaster.”
Co-captain Sara Elsworthy was a standout on Saturday night.
Again playing all 40 minutes, she finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two assists.
Eve Braslis (18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals) and Agnieszka Skobel (15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals) were also vital to the result.
On Sunday, Chantel Horvat poured in 29 points and grabbed ten rebounds, with Skobel (22 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals) her usual energetic self.
Skobel and Elsworthy didn’t leave the floor all weekend in remarkable individual efforts.
Geelong United will head into the King’s Birthday long weekend break in fifth position with a 9-4 win-loss record, making it seven wins in their last eight outings.
Paton admits he would have quite happily accepted 9-4 if it was on offer before the season tipped off.
“Knowing the lateness of when the roster came together, including the intention of bringing in Agnieszka and Chantel, and how big of an impact they’ve had since being at the club, those first five games were always going to be quite pivotal,” he said.
“We were 2-3 out of that, and I probably would have signed up for that as well.
“At 9-4, I think we’ve given ourselves a really good launching pad into the back half of the season.
“But we know we’re going to play a lot of teams we’re in the mix with for finals, and we need to keep getting better.”
When NBL1 South action resumes, Geelong United will host Dandenong at Geelong Arena in its last single-header of the regular season.
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NBL1 MEN – DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE
