Otago Goldrush coach Brent Matehaere described his side's 64-58 win against the Harbour Breeze as ''ugly''.
Ugly or not, it was at least a positive result for the Goldrush in the first leg of the Women's Basketball Championship in Rotorua.
Dual basketball and cricket international Suzie Bates led the scoring with 16 points and Danielle Calnan added 10. American forward Kali Bennett grabbed 15 rebounds but struggled to find her range, netting just eight points.
It was not the performance Matehaere was hoping for but he was pleased his side had found a way to win and was confident the team would be better today in its matches against the Rotorua and Waikato.
''Let's just say I'm pleased with the result,'' Matehaere said.
''A win ugly is still a win. We had 25 turnovers, they made 18 offensive rebounds and they shot the ball about 15 more times than we did, but we still managed to win.
''When we executed, we looked really good. But it just didn't flow and that will come. We had not even had a practice game because we couldn't get one organised. But we got the job done.''
Earlier, the Breeze had a 69-59 win against the Auckland Lady Hawks.
The Waikato Wizards had a huge 72-26 win against the defending champion, the Nelson Sparks. The Sparks' depleted roster was unable to compete.
The Hutt Valley Porirua Flyers beat the Canterbury Wildcats 64-56.
