PICTURE: Mikayla Haupt
Mikayla Haupt
A lionheart is often associated with courage and bravery, and this weekend having the heart of a bear will be synonymous with resilience.
Round 5 of the Queensland State League Division 2 competition will see the Bundaberg Bears take on Port City Power at home with four of their original squad.
With four players out due to injury, and five players away representing Wide Bay, Bears coach Louise Webb said she was recruiting from Bundaberg’s local league for this weekend’s home game.
She said this weekend’s win would come down to “heart”.
Webb said Bundy had a point to prove this weekend after losing by one against Port City Power last weekend in Gladstone.
The Bears lost 66-67 against Gladstone at Kev Broome Stadium.
Playing on their own floor this weekend, Webb said it would be a matter of will – who wanted it most, and could dig in and get it done.
Webb said a lot of positives came out of their last match.
She said having Kylie Giles come out of retirement to take on the role of point guard for the Bears made a huge difference to managing the floor.
Webb said as a team they kept track of their turnovers with a goal of keeping it under 15 – at their last home game they had 18, while last week against Gladstone they had just eight.
She said this was a reflection of having a point guard on the floor to run the ship and manage the tempo of the game.
Webb said Giles was on the floor for 38 minutes and Delanni Loprese did a “fantastic job”, while Ashleigh Muldoon got in some great drives and a couple of nice explosive buckets.
Webb said Gladstone was a good team and currently undefeated.
For Webb a margin of one point and the score itself speaks to the Bears’ positioning more so than their record.
The latest round also saw Moreton Bay Suns Fire and Ipswich Force with the same scoreline of 66-67; while Logan Thunder went down to Southern District Spartans 49-82 and RedCity Roar were defeated by Ipswich Force 43-69.
Set to face Gladstone again this weekend, Webb said defensively they could do a better job and that would be a focus in practice leading up to Saturday’s match.
To catch the Bears in action, head down to the Autobarn Arena at 3 Flint Street on 13 May, the Bears take the floor at 5pm.