Big win for Essex Rebels in Gloucester
The Essex Rebels took to the road and grabbed a win this Sunday as they faced WBBL newcomers Gloucester City Queens in a Championship match-up. The Rebels who entered the game on a two game win streak, coming off wins against Newcastle and Oaklands in previous weeks, extended their win streak to three and helped them inch up the league table.
The first quarter saw the Rebels show a positive display on both ends of the floor, as they jumped out to a 26-5 lead, with huge contributions from Angel Waithe (7 points, 6 rebounds) and Carla Bieg (6 points) coming off the bench. The second quarter started with a banked three and then lay-up from Megan Haines, but the Queens countered with four quick threes of their own to shift the momentum back to the home team. However, some tough full court pressure turned the tide back in the Rebels favour as they headed into halftime up 48-20.
Captain Andrea Kohlhaas started the second half with a three, as Megan Haines, Claire Paxton, and Lu Costa all quickly added on with baskets of their own. After a 13-4 run to start the half, the Queens knocked down a three and started playing some aggressive defence to force the Rebels to make some changes on the floor, which led to them extending their lead 70-30. The Rebels started the final ten minutes on another quick run (11-2) and didn’t look back as they cruised to a 91-42 victory.
Head Coach Tom Sadler had this to say after the game, “It’s a good road win that extends our win streak and keeps some positive momentum going our way. We did some really nice things, but I think we could all tell some of the team looked tired after putting in some massive minutes during the week at our BUCS game. But, what that did was give some other players good minutes and let us try out some new things on both ends of the floor. We’ve got to keep locked in here as we head into a stretch of games against teams all in the top of the table, but hopefully with these past few wins, our confidence is high and that helps.”
Top Performers Rebels –
Angel Waithe – 19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals
Andrea Kohlhaas – 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Carla Bieg – 11 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds
Jade Mbam – 11 points
Top Performers Queens –
C. Marques – 15 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals
M. Ball – 13 points, 4 rebounds
The Rebels continue their month on the road, heading to Sheffield, Manchester, Caledonia, London, and Leicester, before returning home on April 9th.
