New Knox Ford Raiders SEABL Women’s recruit Amy Denson has wasted little time in making her mark with her new team, winning the SEABL Women’s Player of the Week award for her performances in week four.  

In just her second game for the Knox Ford Raiders, Denson recorded her first double-double in a Raiders uniform with 17 points and 18 rebounds at Dandenong Basketball Stadium against the Rangers last Thursday night. Denson also added 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks but despite her performance, the Raiders suffered a three point defeat at the hands of the Rangers who were desperate for a victory after starting the season 0-2.

Returning to the floor just 48 hours later, Denson had her best game of her short Knox career. Playing in front of a large home crowd at Knox Converse Stadium on Saturday evening, Denson led from the front for the Raiders in a tightly contested battle with the Bendigo Lady Braves.

Picked as one of the Championship favourites, the Lady Braves threw everything at the Raiders but had little answer for the offensive firepower Denson provided the Raiders with. The talented American recorded 31 points @ 55.6%, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in an MVP performance that helped the Raiders over the line 83-81.

Coach Heath Anderson had been thrilled with how his new recruit has performed in the early stages of the season and her seamless transition into the team.

“Amy had a great weekend and it’s nice to see she’s settled in so quickly into our rotation. The game on Thursday was a building block for her having an exceptional effort on Saturday night against Bendigo.

“She’s extremely hard to guard because she has a high release on her shot. She can play back to the basket but she also likes facing the basket and shooting mid-range. She’s an exceptional shooter who shoots at a high percentage and makes free throws, and that makes her incredibly hard to guard,” said Anderson.

Anderson spoke about his team’s win against the tough Bendigo outfit, “The game was a defining and really important win for us. We commented after the game that we felt this was the start of our season and this was the game we were searching for after the first four games. It was important that after Thursday’s loss we learnt some lessons and came out and executed on Saturday against Bendigo.”

The win over the Lady Braves moves the Raiders to a 2-2 season record as they travel to Brisbane this Saturday to take on reigning SEABL Champions Brisbane Lady Spartans. Redemption will be on the Raiders minds when they take the floor against the Lady Spartans after being denied the Championship last season in the Grand Final at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Anderson spoke about the redemption factor and whether last year’s loss was motivation for the team.

“Thought about that question a lot and it’s nothing I have to say to the girls. Last year we went up there and had a really important win in the context of our season and we want to make sure last week’s win against Bendigo wasn’t a flash in the pan. We want to come up and back it up against an in-form Brisbane team that is well drilled. They make everything from the ball, to the glass, to the post a war and our girls are going to have to be physically and mentally ready for that challenge,” Anderson stated.

Following this weekend, the Raiders will return to Knox Converse Stadium on Saturday 24th April to face the Sandringham Lady Sabres at 6pm. The Raiders SEABL Men will also play host to the Sabres at 8pm.