Team Emerald finish group phase perfect at Hoopsfix Pro-Am – Week 3 recap

Image credit: Hoopsfix

Team Emerald made it three wins from three at the 2022 Hoopsfix Pro-Am, while Team Sapphire picked up their second to conclude the group phase in Week 3 at the City of London Academy, on Saturday.

Chantel Charles’ game-winner handed Team Emerald a perfect 3-0 record with a come-from-behind 50-48 success over Team Ruby, while Team Sapphire improved to 2-1 as they defeated Team Diamond 54-38.

Semi-finals lineup: Team Emerald v Team Ruby; Team Sapphire v Team Diamond

Team Ruby had looked on course for their first win in the opening game of Week 3 with Shanice Beckford-Norton and Jamila Thompson joining fellow GB internationals Shequila Joseph and Janice Monakana in the lineup. They jumped out to a 7-0 start and established a double-digit advantage at the end of the first at 26-15.

Team Emerald responded in the second to cut the gap to just three points at the half, but were then held to just three points in a low-scoring third quarter to stay behind. Joseph put her side up by five at the midpoint of the final quarter, but Team Emerald continued to chip away at the deficit and tied the game through Molly Lavin before Charles won it before the buzzer.

In the second game, Melita Emanuel-Carr marked her debut in the competition with a game-high of 21 points along with six rebounds and three steals to lead Team Sapphire to a second successive victory.

Emanuel-Carr had eight points in the first quarter as they held a 15-11 advantage before doubling up their opponents in the second to take a double-digit cushion into half-time. Funmi Amode had a couple of tough finishes as Team Sapphire stayed in control and completed a convincing victory to set the tone ahead of next week’s repeat matchup.

Standings:

Pool A – Team Emerald 3-0 (+28); Team Sapphire 2-1 (0); Team Diamond 1-2 (-2); Team Ruby 0-3 (-26)

You can re-watch both games from Week 3 below:

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