Tight game and we left it very late…
Thunderbirds 36 - 40 Eagles
26 January 2020
The girls got off to an impossibly slow start against a much improved Thunderbirds side. Sloppy passing, poor ball placement, silly errors were really the story throughout the first 2 quarters. Some flashes of the Eagles side which has competed well so far in this U16 league with strong diagonal runs from Georgia, Helena and Izzy, these 3 linking up well to get the ball into Grace who is shooting well. All the girls are displaying great skills and making silly mistakes, handing turnover after turnover to Thunderbirds who don’t hesitate to capitalise. With 2 quarters played Eagles trail 20-13, a big gap for them to pull back in.
So tough talk at half time and you can see on the girls faces they know they can do better. A tight huddle by the girls before they step back on court; support, teamwork, willing each other on…and it makes all the difference.
3rd quarter starts well; more aggression, fewer errors, the girls look like they want to play. Some great defending by Nya and Georgia give us the turnover and we score, then another straight from our centre…the gaps narrowing. Keira’s back doing her salmon impression, disrupting and intercepting. Grace and Sophie are getting well served by izzy and Helena and are both shooting well. Eagles are within 2 going into the final 15 minutes 29 - 27…
Both teams want to win this and our Eagles come out fast, fighting for every ball. A long range shot from Grace finally puts Eagles in the lead for the first time in the match with just 5 minutes to go. Nya, Georgia and Keira are defending furiously holding Thunderbirds to just 7 goals in the final quarter. Whilst Helena and Izzy are storming down the court linking up with Sophie and Grace who score 13 to extend the Eagles lead and the girls hang on for the win 36 - 40.
Player of the match for Eagles goes to Keira, well deserved.
The end result? Hppy Girls, proud Coach and some very smelly feet!!!
