Recap

Manchester Mystics II v Newcastle Eagles u14 Girls

The Eagles make the trip to the north -west to play Manchester Mystics 2 at the Manchester Basketball Centre.

The first quarter started off in what is now becoming a habit of the eagles winning the tip off and scoring with the first attack of the game. The Eagles continued their good start and scored again in quick succession with Manchester struggling to find their feet early on. However, after a few minutes Manchester settled into the game where they were successful in rebounds at both ends of the court and often capitalising to finish the quarter with a healthy lead of 26-8

The Eagles started the second quarter with renewed purpose, playing more calmly and retaining possession better, resulting in a flurry of baskets for the away side. The Mystics replied with a few baskets of their own however this quarter felt like the Eagles could reign in the Mystics early lead and felt like a coming of age for the away side. The quarter finished 12-17 bring the total score to 38 – 25. After the mid-point interval, the teams lined up for the third quarter. In a similar fashion to the first quarter the Eagles looked to compete early on however Manchester Mystics asserted their dominance, again increasing a lead over the Eagles in what can only be described as a poor quarter. The third quarter score was 24 – 6 bringing the total score to 62-31.  Manchester Mystics had a healthily lead going into the final quarter of the game, the Eagles came out with renewed purpose. Within seconds of the restart the energised Eagles pressured the Mystics heavily with great success. The Eagles reduced the number of turnovers while significantly improving the steals, rebounds and assists to claw back the score by 8-19 bringing the final score to the game 70-50. Very much a game of two half as the first and third quarters were poor in terms of the score, however the second and final quarters saw the Eagles reduce the deficit. Although the Eagles were on the wrong side of the score line, this performance offered signs of encouragement as were evident in two of the quarters. With many of the Eagles players only playing their third national league game against a well organised Mystics side, there are certainly encouraging signs for the games ahead.

Elizabeth Muir – 13
Sophie Ward – 12
Abigail Stempczyk – 7
Kitty Brooks – 6
Izzy Moxon – 4
Ada Todd – 4
Sophie Irwin – 2
Daisy Bensley – 2