Tough loss against Cardiff Met Archers
The Essex Rebels returned home for a WBBL championship clash against the Cardiff Met Archers on Saturday. The Rebels (0-2) were meeting the Archers (1-0) for the first time this season, still without a full roster.
The first quarter saw the Rebels lead by 1-point after a back-and-forth battle, and the second quarter saw much the same. However, an intentional foul call with under a minute remaining in the half allowed Cardiff to close out the half on a run and enter half-time up by 7. The second half began with the Archers picking up where they left off, but some good outside shooting led by Ashleigh Munns and the Rebels allowed them to close the gap and begin the final ten minutes of the game only trailing by 4. As time ticked on, the score remained similar, with the Rebels keeping it close and bringing it to a 2-point game with 1 minute remaining. The Rebels regained possession with 18 seconds remaining, but a costly turnover and then a technical foul allowed Cardiff to go up by 3. A foul by Cardiff allowed Tia Freeman to get to the line and bring the game to within 1 point. But the game ended with the Archers being fouled to end the game finishing with a final score of 67-64.
Head Coach Tom Sadler had this to say after the game, “until we start valuing the basketball and not committing silly turnovers or taking forced shots that lead to the opposing team getting out on fast breaks we aren’t going to give ourselves enough good opportunities to win games. This starts in training and is something we’ve focused on and will continue to focus on until it clicks. It’s disappointing because we are capable of a better performance, but credit to Cardiff who came here and got the job done. All we can do is continue to work, keep our heads up, and try and get some momentum going in the right direction.”
Top Performers Rebels:
*Ashleigh Munns – 18 points
*Tia Freeman – 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
*Sune Swart – 10 points, 18 rebounds
Top Performers Archers:
*I. Bunyan – 21 points
*L. Saiki – 16 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds
*S. Hatch – 12 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals
