An excellent batting display by Emma Manix-Geeves wasn't enough to secure victory for the Greater Northern Raiders women on Sunday.
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The Riverside opener shone in the sun against New Town at UTAS Stadium, amassing 91 in the home side's chase.
But the team was unable to complete the job, falling 34 runs short of the visitors' 5-279 and all out in the 46th over.
Winning the toss and opting to bat, New Town made the most of ideal conditions with an impressive scorecard as all the top order fired.
Amy Smith led the way with a stylish century, the opener's 110 coming off 131 balls and featuring 11 boundaries.
Hobart Hurricanes captain Rachel Priest (53) provided solid support in a 153-run opening stand.
Two more 50-plus partnerships followed as the middle order took up the baton.
Emily Mifsud (33), Chloe Abel (34 not out) and Matilda Waddington (30) provided similar contributions at close to a 100 strike rate as the Raiders bowlers struggled to stem the flow of runs.
Caitlyn Webster (2-42) returned the best figures and the prized scalps of Smith and Mifsud while Alice McLauchlan, Sophie Parkin and Hannah Magor claimed a wicket each in energy-sapping conditions.
Manix-Geeves was the backbone of the Raiders reply, her 91 coming off 103 balls with eight boundaries.
Despite a golden duck for fellow opener Sascha Lowry, the Raiders established partnerships of 50 and 106 for the next two wickets but the momentum was lost with Manix-Geeves' dismissal.
Having reached 3-199, the keeper-batter was trapped leg before to give Smith her only wicket (1-43) and suddenly the worm turned with the loss of the last seven wickets for 46 runs.
Meg Radford made 37, Amy Duggan 26 and Ava Curtis a battling unbeaten 25 but she ran out of partners as the last five batters managed just nine runs between them.
Mifsud completed a stunning all-round performance by taking 4-45 with Cassandra McLoughlin adding 2-31 and Abel 2-34.
The victory was New Town's first of the one-day campaign.
Darren Simmonds' Raiders team will be looking to bounce back with two more home games in a row.
The side welcomes North Hobart to the NTCA Ground next Sunday before Clarence travel to Westbury.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
