Rebels Advance to the Trophy Semi-finals after Huge Win at Home
In a must-win game, the Essex Rebels Women came out victorious against a very strong Leicester Riders team, securing a place in the Betty Codona Trophy Semi-finals. The final scoreline (84:70) doesn’t fully reflect the competitive nature of the game, following a fourth quarter comeback attempt from the Leicester Riders behind December’s League Player of the Month Taylor O’Brian, who scored 15 points in the last quarter.
The Rebels started the game with a strong performance, and ended the quarter 31-14, following a 10-2 run late in the first quarter, highlighted by Renee Busch and Kat Tudor’s three pointers.
Despite Leicester’s efforts to find some rhythm in the second quarter, the Rebels retained their lead following a very strong performance by US import Tyra Whitehead, who made her season debut and finished the game with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, making her first Women’s British Basketball League Team of the Week.
After the Halftime break, the fans witnessed back-and-forth baskets between the two teams, but Leicester Riders’ hopes were shut down after Kat Tudor’s 14-point third quarter display, also earning her Team of The Week honours.
The well coached Leicester’s side, mounted a fierce comeback in the fourth quarter, led by some huge three pointers by Taylor O’Brian who was able to narrow the deficit to single digits.
Despite the late scare, the Rebels maintained their composure and withheld the Riders’ efforts, securing not only the win, but punching their ticket into the Semi-finals.
Coach Cookson was pleased with his team’s effort: “’We were much happier with our performance against the Riders this time around. The break has been a great reset for our team and we had great preparation coming into this contest. We will be eager to get back to it Monday with Manchester to prepare for.
The Betty Codona Trophy Semi-finals will take place on Saturday, 20th January, at 4pm at the Essex Sport Arena. Tickets are available on the Essex Rebels Eventbrite page. Come support the Essex Rebels Women as they look to make history by advancing to the Trophy Finals at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Sunday 28th January.
