The Otago Goldrush had a disappointing start to the defence of its national title when it lost three of its four games in the first tournament of the women's basketball championship played in Nelson over the weekend.
The Goldrush started the tournament well, when it beat Rotorua 62-51 on Friday.
Injuries and an inability to take its chances proved costly as it was beaten by the Hutt Valley Flyers, 51-36 and the Waikato Wizards, 58-53, on Saturday before losing to the Harbour Breeze 65-40 on Sunday.
Goldrush coach Brent Matehaere said after the win over Rotorua he would have been pleased if his team won one more game.
Yesterday, he said he was frustrated that did not happen, but was also pleased with how his team showed "a lot of heart" in its first of three tournaments for the championship.
He said the Wizards game was one the Goldrush should have won and he was so bewildered as to how it lost that he was awake at 3am yesterday, pondering what went wrong.
"We were up by four [points] with about two minutes to go, but a couple of bad options cost us and, against a team like Waikato, you can't give them that second chance because they are going beat you - and that is what we did."
Goldrush guards Summer Roberts and captain Janet Main top scored with 12 points.
Matehaere said his team's performance against Hutt Valley was one he would like to forget.
Main and guard Danielle Calnan top-scored with eight points.
Matehaere said low scoring cost the Goldrush. It needed players to score between 16 and 18 points, with others chipping in lower numbers if it was to win.
"In the first half we were really close, but again, scoring was our issue.
"We couldn't hit the side of a barn door.
"It was really disappointing."
Low-percentage scoring cost the Goldrush again in its final game, against the breeze.
Matehaere said guard Renee Johnson had a fine game with 21 points, but she needed others to step up and score, which did not happen.
Players to stand out in the tournament were Johnson, guard Summer Roberts, guard Soraya Jensen and captain Janet Main, Matehaere said.
He said Roberts showed a lot of potential and tried hard all tournament, and Jensen and Main showed a lot of leadership.
He expected that to continue for the tournament in Wellington next month.
The Goldrush lost forward Nicole Hellyer to an ankle injury before its game on Friday and versatile forward/guard Samara Gallaher started to feel unwell during the match.
Both women took no further part in the tournament.
Matehaere said he hoped to have Hellyer back, but was not so optimistic about Gallaher.
He said she had been feeling unwell since she fell on the ice last week in Dunedin and her life was too precious to risk playing if she was not 100% fit.
Matehaere expected two of the new players in the team, guard Kelly Nafatali and forward Natalie Smith to play well in Wellington, now that they have had a taste of what national basketball was like.
The Goldrush would have to win five of its next six games if it was to make a run for a top-six playoff spot, Matehaere said.
The third tournament is in Dunedin, from August 23-25.
