The Newcastle Eagles head to Leicester on Saturday evening to take on a Riders side in the Women’s Super League Basketball Championship looking to make it five wins from five in league play. The Riders are currently sitting with a 3 wins 1 loss record so it is a vital game for both sides.
Last Sunday the Eagles eventually overcame a spirited Cardiff Met Archers side in the Vertu Arena by 66-62. A win virtually everyone expected but not by such a close margin which surprised many. But another win on the board nevertheless putting Head Coach Chloe Gaynor’s side in pole position.
Guard Shanique Lucas who had a superb game against the Archers with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six assists and played a huge part in the win knows her teammates and her have to be better against Leicester but is still confident of getting the win.
“For sure it’s a very winnable game, 1000%. If we play the way we did on Sunday for sure it’s not a winnable game. We have over the last few days took our time to figure things out. It was really critical looking over the film and being really detailed about where we messed up which was frequent.”
“If we clean some things up and tidy-up all round we should have a really good chance against Leicester on Saturday. It would be great to be 5-0 going into the Caledonia game just before Christmas but jobs not done.”
“We’ve got a few things to tighten up. We’ve got great coaching staff that will put us in those positions It’s been a week of hard work and we’re looking forward to taking that hard work to Leicester for another big game.”
Head Coach Gaynor is meanwhile in no doubts that despite the win last weekend the manner of victory was not acceptable nor up to the standards that she and the team set for themselves. She outlined how she felt and what her team need to do if they are going to win on Saturday evening.
“Last week was by far our worst performance of the season. The team understands that and we’ve had honest conversations about what went wrong and how we prevent that happening again.”
“This week we need to get back to the identity culturally that we want, and the basketball will take care of itself from there.”
She also knows how dangerous the Eagles opponents are and whilst complementing them on their campaign so far she’s also aware of what her team have to do to combat the Riders threat.
“Leicester have had a good start to the championship and show that they are never out of a game. Their fight is something that makes them dangerous and we have to play a full 40 minutes against them in order to be successful.”
“They have perimeter and inside options, so the defensive end of the floor will be key for us, I’m looking for us to improve there this game.”
Whilst it will not be an easy task at Leicester for Gaynor’s players it is also not an impossible one. If they adhere to the scouting report and play their game they have every chance of continuing their 100% start to league play.
The game tipping off at 6:00pm in the Netball Centre of Loughborough University.
