WNBL Round Up – Week 5
Week 5 of the WNBL was a weekend of comfortable wins for many teams, with only one game being won by less than ten points.
UWIC Archers and Nottingham Wildcats continued their unbeaten start to the season going 3-0, whilst Sevenoaks and Barking Abbey remain without a win so far in the early stages of the new season.
The tightest of the four games was between UWIC Archers and Team Northumbria, with Archers once again taking a narrow road win under player and head coach Stef Collins. The game was won and lost in the second quarter, where Archers took a 5 point advantage over the home side and a six point lead going into the second half.
Team Northumbria continued their solid defensive effort however despite winning the third quarter and sharing 15 points apiece with the Archers, they were unable to make up for the narrow 6 points that separated the two teams at the half.
Team Northumbria’s head coach Josh Merrington felt disappointed with his team’s overall performance:
“Defensively we were solid but we really struggled to execute offensively at times. Cardiff have started the year strongly and we now know the type of level we need to be able to compete at if we want to be one of the top teams in this league”.
Hulme led the home side with 13, with Bulgarian Voynova adding 12 and Thompson with 9. Jenkins led all scorers with 19 personal, followed by 15 from Collins and Sarah Wagstaff with 14 for the Archers.
Nottingham Wildcats continued to prove their strengths at the beginning of the season with a convincing win against Barking Abbey. The home side showed vast improvements both offensively and defensively in the first half, with new signing Jessica Walton showing early offensive intent in the first quarter especially.
However, the unbeaten side proved their strengths taking an 8-0 run in the last minutes of the second quarter, giving them a 36-24 lead going into the break.
Barking struggled to perform as effectively in the second half and with massive contributions from Wildcat player and Greenbay graduate Adrian Ritchie, they went on to lose their third consecutive league fixture 45-72. Ritchie led the game with 27, with Mary Durojaye leading Barking with 12.
BA Head Coach Mark Clark has been left looking for answers for his team who were last year’s runners up, but says they are improving every game and reinforcements are on the way.
“Nottingham were very good and with Ritchie they have a genuine player,” he said after the game. “We started well, and improved again; we are definitely moving in the right direction.
“I’m looking forward to Rhianna Mae (Lang) and Ellie Maidman returning, along with (Spanish wing) Estela and very pleased with Jess Walton on her debut – her combination with the very impressive Mary Durojaye is exciting.
“All the parts are here, we just need time to put them together.”
Loughborough Riders ended the weekend 2-1 after a home win against Manchester Magic. The home side began the game effectively with big defensive effort, keeping Manchester to just 9 points in the first quarter, taking them to a 31-19 lead at half time. Manchester came back fighting with an exciting 17-17 third quarter, however the Riders took control of the final period 13-25 winning the game 73-49.
“There’s been no denying the fact we’ve been in somewhat of a slump over the last few games, struggling to find our rhythm and play with a consistent level of focus,” said Loughborough Head Coach Matt Harber after the game.
“Tonight’s win was a very important step in the right direction for us and I’m confident we’ll begin moving towards a higher level of performance.
Twin sisters Maaja and Maia Bratka led the Riders combining for 26, with Makenzie Westcott adding 12. Hannah Shaw led the Mystics with 14.
Sheffield Hatters looked to regain their winning ways this weekend with a trip to Sevenoaks. The home side managed to maintain the pace of the current cup and league holders in the first half, trailing only 4 points after the first quarter and going into half time down 12. However, that soon changed as the home side struggled offensively in the third and fourth combining for only 17 whilst the Hatters dropped 46.
Sevenoaks remain without a win whilst Hatters have a positive 2-1 record after the road win V Sevenoaks. Steph Gandy led the Hatters with 22 while Megan Lewis dropped 20 for the Suns.
Week 6 Preview
This weekend Barking travel to Loughborough, hoping to pick up their first road and league win. Sevenoaks will take on Cardiff, whose undefeated record makes them the favourites going into the game. Hatters take on Manchester Mystics who will be looking to bounce back from both league and cup losses at the weekend and Nottingham host Team Northumbria, whose narrow loss to joint league leaders will have them looking to upset Wildcats unbeaten record so far.
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