Recap
Despite a significant defeat, with a final score line of 106-33, Coach Marina Fernandez was able to identify lots of positives in the performance of the Newcastle Eagles U16 girls against Milton Keynes following their game on Saturday 14th January.
The game got underway with Milton Keynes immediately taking control of the court, causing the visitors major difficulty in making their way to the basket and getting points on the board. At the opposite end of the court, Milton Keynes displayed an impressive, consistent shooting form which the Eagles struggled to stop despite putting up a good fight under the basket. Despite this struggle, Katherine Bird managed some steals to try and stop the opponent and give her team possession of the ball. However, the only point from the Eagles in the first quarter came from a free throw taken by Ellison Burke who showed strength and determination in her efforts to make it to the basket.
In the second quarter, the Eagles continued to work hard, communicating well on court, effectively finding the pass and taking the right shots. They remained strong on defense and began to limit the shots the opposition were able to take and make although the foul count remained high at both ends of the court. Grace Rae put away a two with a jump stop shot and Sophie Hawkins was able to put away her free throws getting some points on the board for the away team.
The second half began with a continued focus on contesting shots and strong defense. Ellison Burke was able to take advantage of an open drive to the basket which gave the Eagles the first point of the third quarter and set the Eagles up for their closest quarter of the game (18-16). The Eagles girls put into action the advice from their coach with strong boxing out under the basket. They continued to communicate well and worked effectively as a team. Seraphine O’Neill made two consecutive three pointers whilst at the other end, Ava Bensley effectively put in place some strong defense, successfully limiting the amount of shots the opposition got up.
In the last quarter of the game, the Eagles struggled with a high foul count and had three players fouled out which impacted on the bench rotations in the final 5-minutes. Lexie Walton continued to bring the ball down with good distribution and drove hard to the basket to add to the Eagles points total in the last minutes of the game. Erica Elsom and Sophie Henderson fought hard on offense managing to put up some shots despite the strong opposition they were faced with.
Feedback from Coach Marina Fernandez at the end of the game highlighted that the girls had played as a team dictating the pace despite the strong opposition they came up against. Despite the Eagles final points total of 33, there were a range of positives on offense, with the girls putting into play extra passes, baseline drives, kick outs and making sure to play at their own pace instead of rushing their time with the ball.
The Newcastle Eagles U16 girls play their next game away to Nottingham Wildcats.
