The OneFortyOne Mount Gambier Pioneers made a triumphant return to the floor last week, getting stuck into its 2022 preseason with a pair of practice games against Forestville.

The Eagles flew down to the IceHouse last week and played a pair of highly intense games to commence the countdown to the 2022 NBL1 season.

It was the first time the Pioneers women hit the court as one unit since it defeated Sandringham.

The 83-51 win over the Sabres was the last game possible before COVID-19 brought down the curtain on another big season of basketball.

But after 225 days, Mount Gambier’s top women’s team was back in action in front of a well populated home crowd.

OneFortyOne Mount Gambier Pioneers women’s coach Matt Sutton said it was just a nice feeling seeing some basketball again.

“It was just good to play,” he said.

“We had been training pretty regularly for a while, so we were very grateful for Forestville to come down and play us.”

Outside of captain Jasmin Howe and star defender Shakera Reilly, a young Pioneers squad hit the floor in Saturday night’s return clash missing a lot of a big names from last year.

But sadly the signs were not overly promising as Forestville flexed its muscles in the first half and did not give the hosts a sniff on the scoreboard.

Sutton said he was a touch deflated by the struggle to shake the rust off, but was stunned by the way the girls responded, scoring an uplifting win on the following morning.

“I did not really have any expectations in my mind apart from to compete and keep progressing forward,” he said.

“In the first game it was fair to say we were not focused or up for the challenge, so I was pretty disappointed with the approach.

“But I was really happy to see they took on the feedback.

“The response to the way they played in the first game and the ability to let themselves get coached was really pleasing.”

A lot of the young Pioneers squad members suffered the tough experience of being sidelined for key Mount Gambier Lakers Country Basketball League games recently due to COVID-19 regulations.

Sutton said these factors continue to circulate around the Pioneers setup after having the best part of two years swallowed up by coronavirus chaos.

“Its disruptive if you let it because it is just the way of the world at the moment,” he said.

“Training has been up and down and up and down, but I am still pretty happy with what we have been able to achieve.

“We have made it clear that you just have to roll, adapt and be flexible until one day things are moving in a forward direction.”

With Canadian Casandra Brown on the way with familiar face Hannah Young, Sutton revealed the squad is shaping up nicely with one more import expected to be announced soon.

“We have been pretty committed to sustainability which is working with our younger crew, but we are looking forward to a few more of our senior players rolling into town to get the season fully under way,” he said.

“Hannah will be in town in the next week or so, while we plan on finding another import soon, so it is all coming together.

“We will have to see what the chemistry is like, but until the balls are rolled out you do not really know.

“But we are brining in good people that can play hoops, so we are in a good position.”

The Pioneers Next Generation Academy team was also in action against Forestville and number of the team’s stars have broken even higher ceilings.

The squad run by the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy has a number of representatives doing good things having been picked in numerous SA Country squads recently.

Zach Nulty, Jackson Bowden, Harry Mules and Jack Haggett all forced their way into the Under 18 outfit set to play at the Nationals in April, while Trixie Crouch has been named as a reserve in the state girls team in the same grade.

These players have perfecting their skills under the guidance of the LCRSA which is run by Tony Elletson, who said it was great to see the basketball program creating opportunities for the ballers to reach the representative stage.

“We are really excited about the partnership with the Pioneers and it is still in its early days,” he said.

“To have four boys and one girl named in the State Country sides is great because they are all hard workers.

“We have been lucky to work with both the men’s and women’s Pioneers coaches as part of the program, so the players are trained by the best.

“The fact they got the chance to come together as a group and play in Pioneers gear is really exciting and we hope to play a few more academy games.

“It provides great opportunities, and we love to see the players go as far as they can.”

The Pioneers senior and junior teams will continue building towards the 2022 NBL1 men and women’s seasons in the coming weeks.