Essex Rebels Women Bounce Back to Bag Another Win
The Essex Rebels Women’s basketball team claimed another win this weekend as they defeated Durham Palatinates at home. The Rebels, who were looking to bounce back from a loss the previous weekend, approached the game with focus and determination and were rewarded with a win.
The first few minutes of the game were all Rebels, as they jumped out to a 18-2 lead. However, Durham refused to give in and went on a run of their own scoring 16 points to finish out the quarter and make the game more competitive. The momentum continued for Durham into the second quarter outscoring the Rebels 20-15 and entering the half-time break only down 3.
The second half continued a back-and-forth battle, as the Rebels worked to reclaim the upper hand. Leading the charge was DeAngelique Waithe, who had a big impact on the game, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She was supported by point guard Carla Bieg and 3-point specialist Ashleigh Munns, as the Rebels created enough of a cushion to claim the game with a final score of 74-64.
Head Coach Tom Sadler had this to say after the game, “it wasn’t the prettiest game we’ve ever played, but a win is a win, so we’ll take it. We were coming off of a loss last weekend and we really tried to focus throughout the week on defence, which was better, but still need to be our main focus moving forward. We are a team that relies heavily on momentum, good stops, scoring, etc., and when that gets disrupted, we stop communicating, start trying to force things, and then we find ourselves in situations where we have our backs against the wall. I thought Durham came in and played great. They were aggressive the whole game and it really caused us problems. I think they are a team that is going to keep getting better each week. For us, we have an extremely busy schedule coming up, so it’s a lot of active recovery, but it’s exciting to have so many games coming up to keep improving.”
Top Performers Rebels:
DeAngelique Waithe – 22 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals
Carla Bieg – 14 points, 5 assists
Ashleigh Munns – 13 points, 8 rebounds
Andrea Kohlhaas – 8 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Top Performers Palatinates
Claire Paxton – 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Kara Elderkin – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists
The Rebels will enjoy another weekend at home as they face league leaders Leicester Riders on Friday night and an Oaklands Wolves team who are just finding their momentum on Sunday. Both games will be streamed live through the Essex Rebel youtube channel for free! Check out all Essex Rebel social media platforms for more information on how and when to watch and how to support your Essex Rebels!
