No joy for Giants as squad is dealt twin defeats on the road

An expected major test of the Goldfields Giants’ waning depth in its women’s NBL1 ranks played out at the weekend across twin defeats on the road against Warwick and Willetton.

The Giants were led by Ash Sidebottom (14 points) and Jhazmin Joson (13) against Warwick on Saturday.

No-one else scored in double-digits when the second-placed Senators notched a 119-64 victory, but starters Lauren Fech and Kate Sidebottom combined with Tamsyn Pentland and Lawrin Tipene for 21 rebounds.

It was a similar story on Sunday when the Giants fell to Willetton, 92-59 — Fech and Joson combining on 28 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Experience proved critical as Willetton racked-up a fourth straight win and remain in line for a fourth consecutive grand final appearance.

The Giants’ depth has been compromised in the absence of German international Anne Zipser who was sent home a fortnight ago, and teenagers Chloe Zorzi and Ash Monaghan, who are both in the US.

“No doubt we missed that bit of depth,” Giants coach Jaymi Worthington said.

“But if anything, you had to admire the girls’ effort with the cattle we did have, to be fair.

“The girls who played at the weekend, in the minutes that they played, gave great effort, it was a positive environment and none of them dropped their heads.

“Lawrin got a hard knock (in game two) after taking a charge and she has a bit of a history with concussion.

“She’s had a check and there could be a mild concussion so we’ll see how she goes at training this week.

“On top of that, we just have to get our shooting percentage up .

“We’re getting the right looks, but our percentage is too low to be seriously taking it to these teams.”

Following five consecutive losses, Goldfields are 12th with a 3-14 win-loss record and will miss the finals for a third straight season since being promoted to the NBL1.

Rockingham have dominated the competition with a 16-2 record from Warwick (15-2), Cockburn (13-4) and Perry Lakes (12-5).

Lakeside are fifth, but they trail Perry Lakes by three games.

Willetton are sixth, also with nine wins.