Eager wait for Supercats ahead of home prelim

GEELONG United Supercats will have to wait until Sunday’s second semi-final is complete to find out who it will be facing in the preliminary finals at Geelong Arena on August 5.

Following the away win against Mount Gambier a week ago to book its preliminary final berth, head coach Matt Paton said it was business as usual in preparation for next Saturday’s contest against either Waverley Falcons or Eltham Wildcats.

“We have some fresh data on Waverley as we only played them a couple weeks ago, while Eltham has shown the competition that they are a team to be reckoned with.

“For us though, we look at both of those teams and think we match up well against those teams and offensively we have an even spread.

“So, we’ll watch Sunday’s game, but we won’t read too much into adjusting to those teams, at the end of the day we hope it’ll be a tough game for both teams given it’s a short turnaround heading into the prelims.”

United’s 76-86 win over the Pioneers was a big step forward for the squad, travelling interstate to face a crowd of more than 1,000 spectators at the venue where it lost by 40 points earlier in the NBL1 South season.

The Supercats had five players score in double digits led by captain Sarah Elsworthy who played a full 40-minute load and scoring 18 points.

Opal selectee Chantel Horvat finished with an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Ella Tofaeono (16 points and nine rebounds), Eve Braslis (13 points) and Monica Okoye (13 points and five assists) all made substantial contributions.

Horvat, who took a heavy knock against the Pioneers, quickly returned to the game, and will be fully healthy for the preliminary final.

Paton said he had given thought to the prospect of a home preliminary final and urged the Geelong community to show out for its top female basketball side.

“I’d like to throw the challenge out to Geelong that we sell-out Geelong Arena next weekend.

“I think it’s fantastic what the program has achieved so far, the players understand it’s a process that is not finished yet, but we know we’ll have to be in top form against whoever we face to get into the grand final.

“We can’t wait to be in front of, hopefully, a full house of fans of basketball, women’s basketball more specifically, en masse at Geelong Arena.”

To purchase tickets to the preliminary final, head to geelongunitedbasketball.com.au