These CBL finalists have a 'desire to do the one-percenters'

The Mermaids, who finished the Country Basketball League regular season top-of-the-ladder, are eyeing their second grand final appearance in three seasons when they host Mount Gambier at The Arc on Saturday, February 3. Portland Coasters host Horsham in the second women's semi-final.

First-year CBL coach Matt Clarke, who encouraged supporters to get to The Arc on Saturday night, believed the Mermaids were up to the task in front of them.

"We have to come out and not expect things to get easier, that we have to get stronger and better at handling hard situations," he said. "The girls have really stood up to that, we've been tested several times in recent games.

"Credit to the girls, people are prepared to dive on the floor on loose balls and those sort of things.

"You might not be shooting the ball well at times but the desire to do the one per cent things is there."

Though Warrnambool had a home semi-final locked up before their final home-and-away fixture, Clarke and the Mermaids won't be taking fourth-place Mount Gambier lightly.

"No doubt it's going to be a challenge, Mount Gambier came over and beat us here the first time we played during the season," he said.

"While the home court advantage is a huge advantage, they were certainly good enough to beat us here the first time."

The Mermaids had Mount Gambier's measure in a nine-point win earlier in January, though lost Keele Hillas to a foot fracture in the process.

"She's a big loss in the fact she's one of our most experienced players," Clarke said.

The coach backed his younger players to step up, after taking a youthful side to Horsham in their final round, while experienced players such as Mia Mills and Big V captain Molly McKinnon have led from the front this year.

"Mia always stands up as a leader," Clarke said. "And we've been lucky enough to have Molly play four games (for us).

"Her leadership when we played at Horsham was outstanding, so to have girls like that step up and mentor our younger girls is something we're really lucky to have."

Clarke, who has enjoyed his first season coaching the squad, is hoping to finish the summer on a high but isn't looking beyond this weekend.

"Certainly to get a semi-final win would be a huge thrill for me, and to get that opportunity to play in a CBL final... but certainly focused on getting this win this week and taking it from there," he said.