Launceston Tornadoes has meekly handed over the Mitchell-Greenwood Trophy on Saturday night for the first time to Hobart Huskies at the Elphin Sports Centre.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The home side never led for one moment in the 90-69 intrastate loss, only coming closest halfway through the first quarter drawing 15-15 on the back of a repeat two-point jump shots.
"Our girls played hard - we came out and competed," Tornadoes coach Derrick Washington said afterwards. "We made some stops, but we just didn't hit all our shots."
Washington's chargers in fact put up one less shot than Hobart's 83 for the night.
The undermatched and undersized Tornadoes put in a gallant performance for parts of the contest, but did appear powerless against a Huskies starting five in which four were taller than any on court from Launceston.
Former Tornadoes Tayla Roberts and Ellie Collins took advantage of injured import Brittany Hodges not coming up for the game, the pair combining for 18 points in the first half alone.
After Hobart accelerated to a sharp 47-30 first-half lead, Roberts would finish with 18 points and Collins 14.
That all came after leading by 16 points moments before the quarter-time buzzer right when Sarah O'Neill sunk a massive three-pointer to bring the crowd to their feet.
It was a rare early highlight apart from the odd flash or two of Tornadoes' brilliance from Stella Beck.
The New Zealander went on to score both a game-high and individual season-high 23 points at an impressive 71 per cent from the field.
The tall guard also pulled down a mighty 19 rebounds.
While O'Neill collecting 14 points was the only other Torn to reach double-figures on the scoreboard.
The visitors got out to a 23-point lead inside two and a half minutes of the third term and maintained the advantage in the final break before Launceston held firm to finish the Tasmania derby.
Washington's trademark enthusiasm on the bench looked one of frustration.
But the coach insists he is not perturbed by side's slipping 3-10 record.
"It's really about having consistency with players. They know they have to put the ball in the hole. That's just what it is. But they executed the game plan," he said.