Recap
On Saturday 11th March, Newcastle Eagles U16 girls played the first of their double-header weekend games against close rivals Manchester Mystics 3. Coach Paul Nilsen – standing in for Coach Marina Fernandez – made it clear to the girls prior to the game that their focus needed to be on communication, boxing out and help defence and these would be the keys to success in the game.
The girls bought the energy to the court as the game got underway. Cleo Wealleans-Watts had a strong start with good movement on the court which allowed her to find her way to the basket on more than one occasion. Grace Rae did exactly what was required, boxing out on defence alongside Sophie Hawkins with both captains showing strength under the basket. The hard work and intensity of play paid off with the first quarter ending 21-22.
The curse of the one-quarter dip hit in the second with the Eagles girls struggling to execute some of the fundamentals and paying the price for it. Difficulties inbounding the ball, a high number of turnovers and some poor boxing out lead to a costly quarter result of 8-20 which it was difficult to come back from. The lack of consistency caused some frustration both on court and on the bench as the teams hit the locker room at half-time with a score of 29-42.
The strong half-time talk impacted positively and the girls came out with the much-needed intensity that had been missing in the second earning them a third quarter draw of 19-19. Lexie Walton worked hard at both ends of the court, driving strongly to the basket and gaining vital rebounds. Ellison Burke and Grace Rae worked in partnership, passing the ball well between them and cutting to find the space to put the shots up.
Katherine Bird continued to show her strength and speed in the fourth as she worked with intensity at both ends of the court. She drove strongly to the basket and fought for the rebound. Lexie Walton put down her second three of the game in a bid to keep the Eagles in contention but unfortunately the impact of the second quarter was still felt in the final score line of 66-78.
It was clear that the win was within reach and the girls knew exactly what they would need to do in the repeat encounter the following day when they travelled to Manchester.
