Toowoomba Mountaineers women seal QSL basketball finals berth after thrilling win

FINALS BOUND! The Toowoomba Mountaineers are headed to the QSL post-season after a stunning team performance on Saturday night. Check out the biggest talking points from the nailbiting clash with Southern Districts here.

Hannah Lennan for Toowoomba Mountaineers. Picture: Kevin Farmer

For the second year in a row, the Toowoomba Mountaineers are headed to the QSL women’s playoffs after a thrilling win at home on Saturday night against the Southern Districts Spartans.

After an impressive 91-83 win in their first leg of a final round double-header, the Mountaineers secured their place in finals with a game to spare.

Check out the biggest talking points from the clash here.

Mountaineers’ superb squad depth

In what was without a doubt their biggest game of the season, the Mountaineers came to play with one of the strongest team performances of the year.

Six players scored 10 points or more for Toowoomba as the Spartans had no answer for the versatility of Matt Cox’s side.

Mia Stower, Paula Ortiz, Hannah Lennan, Laura Conway, Lisa Salmi and Halle Shipton all ended the game in double figures with Stower leading the team with 19 points.

Stower and Ortiz continued to prove why they are one of the most lethal duos in the competition as the pair combined for 37 points.

Mia Stower for the Toowoomba Mountaineers. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Neers dominate the boards

Saturday night marked one of the rare occurrences where a team has more offensive rebounds than defensive.

Led by Stower and Kim Wilson, the Mountaineers recorded an astonishing 40 offensive rebounds to go with their 39 defensive boards.

It came as no surprise to see Stower continue to crash the glass as she recorded more than 10 offensive rebounds and finished with more than 20 boards in a stunning double-double.

The impressive work on both ends helped the Mountaineers claim a stunning win in the battle of the boards as they recorded 31 more rebounds than Southern Districts.

Erin Harvey in action for the SD Spartans during the 2022 QSL season. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Superstar performance not enough

With the Spartans still in with a shot of making finals, young gun Erin Harvey showed why she is set to be a future star of Queensland basketball with a phenomenal performance.

The 19-year-old guard finished with a game-high 33 points and was a thorn in the side of the Mountaineers for the entire 39 minutes that she was on the floor.

Resilience shines through

After the Spartans led for 25 of the opening 30 minutes, the Mountaineers’ incredible resilience was on full display.

The Mountaineers pulled off a 22-point turnaround as they trailed by 14 points at one stage by slowly clawed their way back in the second and third quarters before taking the ascendancy in the final term to seal an eight-point victory.