Imports Jason Conrad and Tanner McGrew dominated the the rebound count in Saturday night's match up with the Brisbane Capitals at Auchenflower. The Pirates out rebounded the Capitals 55 to 33, Conrad had 10 and Tanner McGrew showed why he led the nation in rebounding at NCAA Div 2 level hauling in 17 boards. In the their first week together as a team with a full roster, the Pirates came out on fire with crisp ball movement and a barrage of threes from Brendan Teys from inside out plays. This had the Pirates up early in the first quarter.. The timing on player movement and ball movement was not quite in sync towards the end of the quarter and the Capitals put on a run to take control of the game going into the half.
The second half effort levels rose, sparked by Adam Tolo, Luke Pittle and an inspirational chase down play by Tanner McGrew to pick off a kick ahead pass. Tolo was outstanding and at his efficient best in the comeback, racking up 20 points in just 19 minutes at 63% from the field. The Caps relied heavily on Dusty Rychart who made some tough fade away plays in the paint down the stretch to keep the Caps in the game. The on court energy from the Pirates was contagious, they were working together as a crew, communicating on defence and switching on screens giving the Capitals little space to throw up their favoured three point shots. It was great to watch. Bairstow and Teys agressively attacked the rim all night and the reward came late in the fourth when Dusty Rychart fouled out. Bairstow top scored with 24 points at 75% from the field and Teys had 21.
The QBL teams have two weeks of practice together in preparation for the next home clash against Bundaberg on Saturday night June 4th and then back up for an away game at the Southport School on Sunday 5th against pool rival Gold Coast.
In the women's game , turnovers and rebounding hurt the Pirates which allowed the Capitals to have 21 more shots. Sidney Parsons continued her blistering form with 27 points. Erica Carlson was a lone force on the boards with 12 rebounds and she added 3 blocked shots but could not get the ball where she needed it to be effective. The coaches will be hoping for the return of guards Charlie Kiemann and Celeste Williams from injury to add a little more experience to the back court for the Bundaberg game.
