The penultimate home game of the regular season for the Rebs women at the Essex Sports Arena. Leicester Riders rocked up in what looked like it might be a tight contest.
Sunday afternoons are a bit of a come down from the usual Saturday night Rebs game day atmosphere. It was small, but passionate crowd. There was a new MC on the mic, who did a fine job throughout the game. Plus also a different DJ, dropping some absolute bangers in a De La Soul heavy set.
Back on the court and it was a tight first quarter. Some stray passes from both teams stretched out the game. A big three pointer from Nat Chau right on the buzzer gave the Rebs a 22-17 lead.
Paige Meyer dominated the second quarter for the Rebs. Ditto the third and fourth. Woh! She was immense out there this afternoon. She’s probably the best player the Rebs have seen during the short franchise history. I hope we retain her for next season.
An all round team effort led to the Rebs stretching away with a 42-35 lead at half time. It was great to see the entire bench getting some court time.
There was one message for the Rebs at the start of the third: DON’T FALL APART. We’ve seen this so many times this season - a decent first half, and then it all goes a little wobbly in the third. Thankfully the Rebs didn’t disappoint.
They pressed on in the final quarter. Leicester looked deflated and well beaten. The magical 100 points were well within site for the Rebs. But with the game never in any real doubt, Coach Cookson chose instead to give court time to his whole bench.
A final scoreline of 96-56 for the home team felt right. Up the Rebs!
