Women’s Southern Huskies finish as top dog in ‘ugly’ affair

The new era of women’s basketball started on the right note for the Southern Huskies after a scrappy, hard-fought victory in their NBL1 season opener.

Sharna Thompson drives down the court. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

THE new era of women’s basketball started on the right note for the Southern Huskies after a scrappy, hard-fought victory against Sandringham in their NBL1 season opener on Friday night.

Willie Joseph, who coached the first Hobart Chargers women’s side in their inaugural SEABL campaign, made a successful return to the ranks, overseeing a 76-68 result after watching his side claw back a 14-point deficit midway through the second quarter.

Coach Willie Joseph. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

With Australian representative Rachel Jarry (30 points, 12 rebounds) finding her range, the Sabres threatened to blow the contest apart in the second stanza, before the Huskies clicked into gear to nab the lead at the long break.

The second half proved an arm wrestle as both sides struggled from the floor, with the Huskies finishing the game on 35.6 per cent shooting and the visitors 31.1.

National star Cayla George, who will feature in the first three games before jetting back to the US to resume WNBA duties with Dallas, was a colossus on the boards to finish with 18 rebounds and a team-high 24 points.

Cayla George sank a team-high 24 points for the Huskies. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Tayla Roberts also completed a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) while Kylie McCauley was influential off the bench with a dozen points herself.

“We had to work for it, it was one of those ugly games where they didn’t go away,” Joseph said.

“I think we might have taken it a little bit for granted early, down by 14 but we dug deep to get ourselves back into it and I think we wore them down.

“We had too much size for them in the end.

“I believe it will take a few weeks for everyone to mesh and jell. We are hoping we can build on this for next week – it will be even tougher with Nunawading coming to town.”

The Huskies’ advantage inside the paint was highlighted by a 57-43 advantage on the boards, while they also dished out 17 assists to eight.