There were contrasting results for Wolves under-16s on Saturday as the girls returned from Lewisham with a 53-36 victory against Thunder but the boys went down 63-60 at West Herts Warriors.
In a long and scrappy game which saw much of the action take place at the foul line, the girls stepped up in the fourth period to go on a 20-1 run that sealed their ninth victory in ten league outings this season.
Caitlin Ryan led the visitors' scoring, hitting three treys on the way to a 16 point, six assist, five rebound, four steal afternoon. Jemima Uzoka continued her good form with 14 points and seven rebounds while Mlla Skipic-Piscitelli had six points and five boards as nine Wolves got on the scoresheet.
The visitors started well, with Ryan's first trey sparking a 7-0 run before foul trouble started to mount as Thunder closed the gap to 15-12 at the opening break. It took seven minutes for either side to register a second period point before another Ryan three got the scoreboard moving and Wolves won the period 9-2 to take a 24-14 lead into the locker room at half-time.
The third period proved to be a war of attrition as a series of bizarre calls saw the hosts live at the charity stripe and as the visitors grew increasingly frustrated Thunder took advantage to cut the gap to three points before Uzoka sent Wolves into the final break with a 33-28 lead.
Lewisham opened the fourth quarter with pair of baskets to cut the lead to a single point before Ryan's triple sparked the game-winning run. a pair of Skipik-Piskitelli baskets gave them breathing space. Joanna Akpan's trey took the lead out to 14 going into the final three minutes and coach Tor Freeman was able to take his starters out of the game a minute later with the victory sealed. In contrast, the boys saw their play-off hopes dented with a narrow loss at West Herts Warriors as a potential game-tying triple was waved off by the referee.
Adam Pearce's side edged the first period 9-8 but Warriors' depth began to show against an eight-man Wolves roster as they went into the locker room 28-26 ahead.
The visitors regained the initiative in the third period, reaching the final break 45-43 lead but were outscored 20-15 in the final quarter as Warriors hung on for the win.
Simon Pattasin had another 27 point performance to lead the Wolves, adding eight rebounds along with three assists and as many steals. Ethan Downing had six rebounds and five steals to go with his 15 points, while Daniel Kostadinov finished with 11 points and five boards.
Opmerkingen