Toowoomba Mountaineers women’s team on the cusp of finals after impressive QSL1 win

The Toowoomba Mountaineers women’s side are within touching distance of a QSL1 finals berth after another impressive performance on Sunday. Check out the biggest talking points from the action here.

Paula Ortiz Caballero for Toowoomba Mountaineers. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The Toowoomba Mountaineers women’s side continued their push for finals on Sunday with a crucial 63-52 win over Moreton Bay Suns.

The Mountaineers have won six of their 11 games this season and are on the cusp of a finals berth with three games left in the season.

Check out the biggest talking points from the clash here.

Controlled performance

While the Suns remained in the fight for most of the contest, they rarely held the ascendancy as the Mountaineers were a class above from start to finish.

Toowoomba led for 37 minutes and 43 seconds, while Moreton Bay led for just 18 seconds in the third quarter.

The Suns were within three points at the start of the final period but Matt Cox’s side showed composure to finish off the job and claim the win.

This had been an area which had let the Mountaineers down at times earlier in the campaign.

This was most evident back in round 7, where Toowoomba was in front for almost 38 of the 40 minutes but Northside managed to come from behind to steal a win in the final minute of the game.

Mountaineers make Suns pay at the line

One of the biggest differences between the two sides was the scoring at the free throw line.

Toowoomba’s aggressive work in and around the paint allowed them to make several trips to the line, while the visitors only had seven free throw attempts for the contest.

The Suns also did themselves no favours from the line as they made just one of their seven attempts, while the Mountaineers made 14 of their 19 attempts.

If Moreton Bay had managed to commit a few less shooting fouls and shoot at a reasonable rate from the line, then the game could have turned out very differently.

Toowoomba Mountaineers coach Matt Cox during a time-out. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Team performance from Toowoomba

Sunday’s display highlighted the variety of attacking options within the Mountaineers set up, with three players reaching double figures in points scored.

With usual offensive weapon Mia Stower having a quiet game with only six points from 12 field goal attempts, it was import Paula Ortiz Caballero who was a class above with 16 points and eight assists.

She was supported by young gun Halle Shipton and Kim Wilson who both scored 11 points each.

Chemistry building

Early on in the season, there were clashes where the Mountaineers made upwards of 20 turnovers – in particular on the fast break just after forcing a turnover themselves.

However, on Sunday – fresh off a bye week – Toowoomba cut out those errors and made just 10 turnovers for the entire contest, while Moreton Bay made more than double that amount with 21.

The turnover differential was reflected in the box score, with the Mountaineers attempting 11 more field goals than the Suns.