Rockets Senior Ladies took a depleted squad of 7 to Wales due to an U18 clash with Gloucester and some injuries. It was a new hurdle to face for Coach Thorne and in his preparation and pre game talk with the team focused heavily on playing for 4 quarters and not in the moment. Having only taken 2 guards and 5 forwards it was important that U18 Denisa Molnar and Natacha Paris played with composure and smarts, any foul trouble could of had a major impact on the fixture. It was a tough task playing for Coach Thorne because he still wanted aggressive defense, ball pressure, wing and corner traps and the group did a fantastic job of trying to execute the teams tactics.
Before the game started, we were forced to sit three under 5s on the opposite side of the court without supervision which was a huge shock to us and the home team. The highlight of the day was how well behaved they were. Fantastic job Raphael, Josh and Gabriel. Their mums are super proud of you!
If anything this decision fired up our group which showed in the first quarter score line of 27-9. Cardiff came out in a 2-3 zone and this showed they were willing to let us shoot the ball. This is one of the squads strengths and Cat Lutz hit back to back 3s in the first few minutes soon followed by Denisa Molnar scoring a team high 11 points in the quarter.
The focus this game was to let the defense create the offense. We aimed to play solid defense, create deflections and steals, and create advantage scenarios on offense which we did to great success. Captain Steph Johnson scored 12 points and during the 2nd period did not miss a shot.
The game also allowed the group to practice a variety of defenses and to perfect their out of bounds plays in dead ball situations. Cat Lutz led the way with 42 points, 24 of which were from behind the three point line. Cat continues to play with an abundance of energy on both ends of the floor and on the sideline to help fire up her teammates during games.
Cardiff tried hard for the 40 minutes with veteran Joelle Moreno playing aggressive defense and some fantastic off the ball cuts to keep the Archers energy levels high. Having watched her play the previous week at the National Cup finals with there Division 1 team, we knew she was going to be a handful. Archers could possibly have used her in their away loss to Nottingham.
With 4 games left in the regular season the league is really taking shape. Bristol got a huge win over Oxford Women and this has meant the top 4 are super close with no team being in a position to lose games in the hunt for the league title and playoff spots.
Before the game started, we were forced to sit three under 5s on the opposite side of the court without supervision which was a huge shock to us and the home team. The highlight of the day was how well behaved they were. Fantastic job Raphael, Josh and Gabriel. Their mums are super proud of you!
If anything this decision fired up our group which showed in the first quarter score line of 27-9. Cardiff came out in a 2-3 zone and this showed they were willing to let us shoot the ball. This is one of the squads strengths and Cat Lutz hit back to back 3s in the first few minutes soon followed by Denisa Molnar scoring a team high 11 points in the quarter.
The focus this game was to let the defense create the offense. We aimed to play solid defense, create deflections and steals, and create advantage scenarios on offense which we did to great success. Captain Steph Johnson scored 12 points and during the 2nd period did not miss a shot.
The game also allowed the group to practice a variety of defenses and to perfect their out of bounds plays in dead ball situations. Cat Lutz led the way with 42 points, 24 of which were from behind the three point line. Cat continues to play with an abundance of energy on both ends of the floor and on the sideline to help fire up her teammates during games.
Cardiff tried hard for the 40 minutes with veteran Joelle Moreno playing aggressive defense and some fantastic off the ball cuts to keep the Archers energy levels high. Having watched her play the previous week at the National Cup finals with there Division 1 team, we knew she was going to be a handful. Archers could possibly have used her in their away loss to Nottingham.
With 4 games left in the regular season the league is really taking shape. Bristol got a huge win over Oxford Women and this has meant the top 4 are super close with no team being in a position to lose games in the hunt for the league title and playoff spots.
