The OneFortyOne Pioneers women split their NBL1 South conference road trip double header on the weekend, taking down the Kilsyth Cobras before falling to the Knox Raiders.


The Pioneers kicked off their Victorian trip against the Cobras on Saturday night and burst out of the blocks against the hosts.


Youngster Mackenzie Burke opened proceedings only 45 seconds after tip off, before captain Isabella Brancatisano landed a huge three pointer to


have Mount Gambier up 5-0 in a minute.


Meanwhile, the Cobras could not get any shots to drop and were held scoreless for more than four minutes of play, as the Pioneers went up 9-0.


But Kilsyth then swiftly kicked into gear, going on a two minute scoring spree to reel the Pioneers back in, only down 13-15 with three minutes left on the clock.


Mount Gambier fired again, to push the lead back out to five, but the Cobras kept striking and finished the quarter down 19-22, with Pioneers captain Isabella Brancatisano having racked up 10 points in the stanza.


The second quarter was a far more even affair, as Kilsyth opened the scoring with a three pointer to draw level with the visitors, before taking the lead by three.


Pioneers head coach Matt Sutton called a time out, which obviously worked as Brancatisano resumed the court and hit a super three to again level scores, before the Cobras retaliated with a long range bomb of their own to again lead.


Brancatisano again found success from outside the arc as she led her side on an 8-0 run, taking her first half tally to 16 points as the Pioneers went into the main break up 35-30.


The Pioneers stepped on the gas in the third, with Jayda Jansen opening the quarter with a three pointer to push the lead out to eight.


However Kilsyth rallied and clawed their way back to within three points just two minutes into the stanza.


The sides traded shots until Pioneers vice captain Haliegh Reinoehl knocked down a three and her side started to pull away from the Cobras, with Mount Gambier outscoring the hosts 24-15 in the term, including an incredible 16 point contribution from Reinoehl in the stanza.


Kilsyth used the last break to reset and hit the court hard in the final term, landing three three pointers to eat into the Pioneers’ lead.


Again Sutton called a time out to halt the Cobras’ 11-4 run, with Reinoehl restarting play with a three pointer to have her side up by 10 half way through the term.


Kilsyth got back to within eight points, and despite a couple more long range shots, that was as close as they could get as the Pioneers won the quarter 19-18 and the game 78-63.


Reinoehl finished the match with a huge 30 points and 18 rebounds, while Brancatisano registered her own double double with 21 points and 12 rebounds.


Incredibly the captain and vice captain contributed 51 of Mount Gambier’s 78 point total.


Mount Gambier had a tougher match against the third placed Knox Raiders on Sunday, despite jumping out to a five point lead in the first 90 seconds of play with Jansen opening the scoring before Brancatisano sunk a three.


Reinoehl joined the long range party, sinking her own, before the Raiders found their rhythm and range and fought back to be down by a point with four minutes left in the quarter.


The scoring dried up in the back end of the period, with Knox eventually grabbing a one point lead, before Mount Gambier closed out the term to be up 18-15.


The Pioneers could not take a trick in the second stanza, as the Raiders pulled ahead 19-18, and it took a trip to the charity stripe for Brancatisano for Mount Gambier to hit the scoreboard more than two minutes into play, which levelled the scores.


From there Knox were never headed as they went on a 7-0 scoring spree in less than 60 seconds to be up 26-19.


The Pioneers staged a mid quarter resurgence, with Reinoehl again finding success from long range, to pull back within two points.


But the Raiders would not have it, outscoring Mount Gambier – 12-1 in the last five minutes of the term – and 23-7 for the quarter – to go into the main break up 38-25.


Knox sent down a flurry of three pointers in the first half of the third, pulling out to a 25 point lead, prompting Mount Gambier to call a time out.


The break in play worked, as the Pioneers held the Raiders scoreless for the last five minutes of the term, but could only contribute four of their own, including a three pointer from Cat MacGregor.


There was plenty of back and forth play in the final quarter, with Keryl Ousey and Chloe Hildebrand hitting three pointers, but Knox landed three of their own to close out the match 82-51.


Brancatisano led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Reinoehl contributed eight points and eight rebounds, with all bar


one of the bench scoring in the match.


The OneFortyOne Pioneers will host the Melbourne Tigers at Wulanda this Friday night, with tip off at 6pm.