The Queanbeyan Yowies women's team continued their sparkling return to competitive basketball this year with their second win on the trot over the Wagga Wagga Blaze at the Queanbeyan Basketball Stadium on Saturday March 23.
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For the second week running, the match went into overtime, and stand-in coach Aaron Gorman said that the message was "basically just patience."
"We're strong offensively and we're strong defensively and Wagga's a fairly fast side," he said.
"When we played at their speed and didn't work to our game, that's when they started clawing their way back."
Two wins against any opposition in the first two rounds of the season would have pleased the Yowies, but to beat the 2018 premiers 94-84 in a high-pressure situation is a credit to the level-headedness of the players, Gorman said.
"They're a very relaxed bunch of girls and they just come out and get the job done when they need to," he said.
"I was very nervous about it. I've watched the women a couple of times and I know they're strong and quick and they were shooting very well in the first half.
"They were solid. They played hard defence, they played hard the whole game ... we need those games. We need to be able to grind.
"They definitely deserve to be here."
The women's match was preceded by the men's, who also played against Wagga and also earned a strong win, 89-58.
The men's match was a very physical affair, which at one point nearly broke out into a fight. While he did not condone this display, Queanbeyan men's coach Peter Herak said that the Yowies had always shared a heated rivalry with Wagga.
"It's always a tough game, [but] at the end of the game though we always shake hands and congratulate whoever wins on the day," Herak said.
"But during the game, it's pretty tough."
Over the course of the match, the Yowies put on an impeccable display of basketball, and consistently outworked and outpaced their opponents.
This was, Herak believes, one of the best performances he's seen from his players this season.
"It was excellent, we were switched on from the word go," Herak said.
"We started a little slow last week, so we talked about coming out ready to play.
"We're trying to build each week so we can peak towards the end of the season, but it's crucial to get wins now."
The women's Yowies will play this Saturday at 4.00pm against Goulburn in Goulburn, while the men will play against the Canberra Gunners Academy in Belconnen from 6.30pm.
