A PROMISING women’s State League Division 1 season for the Bathurst Goldminers came to a shuddering halt at the hands of the Queanbeyan Yowies on Saturday night as they suffered a 82-59 semi-final defeat at the Sutherland Basketball Stadium.

While the Goldminers had lost a weekend double-header to the Yowies heading into the finals series, with more players on deck and a neutral venue for the match, the Bathurst side were confident of advancing to the grand final.

But it wasn’t to be as a slow start, coupled with dominant games from Yowies duo Annie La Fleur and Kristen Langhorn, meant the Bathurst side fell short of the decider.

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Goldminers, who spent the majority of the 2015 State League season sitting undefeated on top of the ladder.

The Goldminers were down 20-8 after the first quarter and that 12-point margin remained for almost all of the following three periods.

The rest of the game was evenly fought, but the Goldminers were not able to reel in their rivals. The closest they got was four points.

Cafe admitted the Yowies raised their game up to another level.

“They played really well and they deserved to win. They’re a quality team,” she said.

“We didn’t really do much wrong, just missing some crucial baskets at times. We certainly made them work for it ... we did have some good moments at different times of the match, but we needed to put it together for the whole game.”

Former Australian Opals Olympic medallist La Fleur was in absolute control of proceedings from the opening minute.

“Whenever Annie La Fleur went off the court we were able to get ourselves back in the game. We were back within four points close to half-time,” Cafe said.

“When she came back onto the court she controlled everything. She’d slow the game right down and that doesn’t suit us.”

The Goldminers reached half-time at 38-25 down, but it could have been worse given their tallest player – Laycee Covington – was off the court for the three minutes leading into the long break.

Covington had picked up three fouls in the space of just seven minutes, which forced Cafe to bench her.

The third quarter saw the Goldminers cut back the margin to 11, but the result was put beyond doubt when the Yowies pulled out to a 17-point advantage in the final minutes. 

Rachel Murray top scored for the Goldminers with 18 points, while Olivia Patterson bagged 11.

Looking back on the season, Cafe said it marks a good learning opportunity for the younger players in the team for what to expect next time.

“As the girls were saying after, it’s four losses in a row for us and it shows we hadn’t adjusted well,” she said. 

“They were disappointed to come away with the loss, of course, but they’re still really happy with the season that they’ve had.”

QUEANBEYAN YOWIES 82 (Annie La Fleur 21, Kristen Langhorn 16, Tegan Ketels 15) defeated BATHURST GOLDMINERS 59 (Rachel Murray 18, Olivia Patterson 13, Emily Matthews 9, Chelsea Noon 9)