The OneFortyOne Pioneers women secured their first win of the 2025 NBL1 South conference season on Friday night on their home court.
The Pioneers hosted the Sandringham Sabres, with new recruit Jayda Jansen taking to the court for her first appearance for Mount Gambier – and delivering a standout performance.
However the night belonged to vice captain Haliegh Reinoehl who dominated at both ends of the court, registering a double double with 16 points and 21 rebounds.
Taking to the court, the Sabres hit the scoreboard first thanks to a Pioneers foul, only knocking down one of the free throws before Mount Gambier kicked into action with Jansen leading with way, scoring five points in the opening two minutes.
The Pioneers quickly jumped out to an 8-1 lead while holding Sandringham scoreless for three minutes.
Mount Gambier continued the scoring pressure, and half way through the opening quarter were up 16-6, with the Sabres’ shooting at 22% from both the free throw line and field goals leaving them down 27-10 at the first break.
Scoring dried up in the opening three minutes of the second stanza, with the Pioneers extending their lead to 31-10, again holding the Victorians scoreless until they hit the basket after three minutes.
Sandringham found their rhythm, outscoring Mount Gambier – 9-13 in the space of four minutes, before going on to win the quarter by five points, however the Pioneers headed into the main break up 41-29.
By this stage Reinoehl had already exerted her dominance on the game, with 13 points and 14 rebounds in the opening half.
Mount Gambier regrouped at the break, extending their lead to 15 in the opening five minutes of play, before pushing it out to be up by 23 with two minutes left on the clock.
The Sabres were restricted to only 10 points for the quarter, while the Pioneers registered 17 to be in front 58-39 at the last change.
But Sandringham found an extra gear in the final stanza, doggedly fighting for the ball and holding Mount Gambier to only four points in the first five minutes, while scoring eight of their own to reduce the deficit to 11.
The Pioneers turned the tables in the last five minutes, outscoring the Sabres 7-4, and while Sandringham won the quarter 16-13, Mount Gambier claimed the victory 71-55.
Jansen top scored with 19 points, with Reinoehl knocking down 16 and captain Isabella Brancatisano 14.
After a solid win on Friday night, the Pioneers could not quite match it with the Eltham Wildcats on Saturday night at Wulanda.
The Wildcats hit the court with determination, with Mount Gambier only able to covert through a free throw in the opening five minutes, as Eltham piled on 11 points.
Reinoehl landed a three pointer to have the Pioneers at 4-11, before the Wildcats went on a three minute scoring spree, knocking down 13 unanswered points.
Jansen found her range from outside, however Mount Gambier went into the first break down 8-32.
The Wildcats doubled down on their first quarter efforts in the second stanza, again holding the Pioneers scoreless in the opening three minutes of play while sending down nine unanswered points.
Mount Gambier then dominated two minutes of play to score nine, with Eltham unable to find the basket.
Brancatisano found her range from outside, while Jansen sent down three three pointers to outscore the visitors 24-16 for the quarter, heading into the main break down 32-48.
Play was more even in the third quarter, as Reinoehl and Cat MacGregor lit up from outside, however the Wildcats outscored Mount Gambier – 13-16 to be up 45-64 at the final change.
There was plenty of back and forth play in the opening 90 seconds of the third before the Pioneers scored, followed quickly by a three pointer from Maddy Timms to close the gap to 14 points.
Eltham responded with successive three pointers to blow the gap back out to 20, before Mount Gambier sent down seven unanswered points to get back within 13.
Both sides battled valiantly in the final two minutes, with Jansen again finding range from outside.
But in a devastating blow for the Pioneers, Reinoehl went down before limping off the court in the last minute of the match.
Reinoehl’s departure was compounded by Mount Gambier’s loss, going down 64-76 despite winning the quarter 19-12.
Reinoehl led the scoring for the match with 19, with Jansen contributing 17 and MacGregor 12.
Head coach Matt Sutton said he was pleased with how his players approached Friday night’s game.
“We thought the girls had the right mindset going into the game and were able to follow through with some of the plans we had put in place,” he said.
“They played with a good amount of effort and confidence.
“It’s always important (to get the first win), we are working really hard, we do not really talk about wins and losses, we focus on how we play.
“The win gives everyone a good boost.”
Sutton said Reinoehl’s performance on the night was a highlight.
“Haliegh’s was one of the special performances in our program’s history and we are not surprised that she came up with that, we are very proud of her,” he said.
Sutton also welcomed the arrival of new import Jansen, who only arrived in the Blue Lake city last week.
“She gave really good energy during the week and we expected that,” he said.
“There are still some things to learn, we only had one and a bit trainings with her before the game.
“But we are really proud of what she introduced on Friday.”
Meanwhile, Sutton said his side let Eltham get away from them in the opening minutes of Saturday night’s match.
“We just started slow, the start was the killer in the end,” he said.
“Then we won the rest of the game quite comfortably.
“You cannot start that way, which indicates we did not enter the game with the right mindset
“We fought hard towards the end, we’re proud of the team’s collective effort, but we need to address how we entered that game.”
Sutton was confident that Reinoehl would be right to resume playing duties when the Pioneers take the court on April 25.
“It’s a rolled ankle, so the break for Easter will hopefully have her right to hit the court,” he said.
