The Newcastle Eagles Women’s side face their biggest game of the season at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield this afternoon. They take on The Hatters in the Super League Basketball Play-Off Semi Final with the winner moving on to play in the showpiece end of season play-off final at the O2 Arena in London.
But it won’t be easy as Sheffield are tough.They are the only side Eagles haven’t beaten in four encounters this campaign. Starting with a pre-season friendly, through two regular season league games and a Cup semi final Sheffield have held sway but with every game Newcastle have come close to ending that run.
Today is the last chance and with the incentive for the winners will it be fifth time lucky for an Eagles side that has had a truly remarkable season. Gaynor certainly hopes so as she previewed the game and the task in front of her charges.
“The mood in the camp is good. We’ve had a really solid week. We’ve had a chance to talk about the key things we need to do. We’ve had really close encounters in the last couple of games we’ve played against them both being at their place and the girls are pretty clear in what they have to do.”
That also goes to Gaynor her assistants and the back-room staff who have also prepared in their own way for the roles they have to play if Newcastle are to come away with the win.
“We’re all feeling positive and pretty similar to the players. We did extensive breakdown in what happened in the last couple of games which were very much a scoring race in both games. We wanted to key in on the defensive end and for us it’s about the defensive mentality that will win us the game.”
“You very rarely get to play the same teams as many times at this level so the girls were already very aware before we even gave them the scout. Its about tweaking things that didn’t go so well for us last time and keep on doing the things we did well.”
“The girls have sort of had this game circled on their mind and we wanted to be on this side of the bracket and give us one last chance against Sheffield and try to be a team that’s beaten everyone at least once this season.”
“The girls are definitely up for this one and the whole team really wants to win this one. I hope that this is the one and we’ve taken away the lessons from the previous ones and hopefully that’ll give us the edge.”
“Not all losses are losses. Sometimes they’re learning. Hopefully we’ve learned the lessons we need too and apply them today.”
Both sides of course are well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and no doubt it’s going to be who applies the preparation and adjustments better on the day. No-one is more aware of that than Gaynor who has had a wonderful rookie season as a Head Coach.
“Their strengths lie in their shooting prowess from the perimeter and their transition. They have many good offensive players. For us it’s about being aware of that threat from all over the floor. They scored 63 points in the first half in the last game against us and shot the ball extremely well.”
“That’s something we have to be wary of but as far as the keys to the game are concerned we have to be the best version of ourselves which is something I always say because it’s true. In saying that we have to take care of business on the defensive end.”
“As people say offence wins you games but defence wins you championships. For us its making sure we key in on our defensive assignments. We know our scout. We know who the shooters are, we know who the drivers are and yes, defence wins championships.”
If the Eagles can match Gaynor’s clear line of thought and preparations it may well be another memorable afternoon in this superb SLB season for her players and herself.
