Rebels v Sheffield produces on court Thriller

The Essex Rebels Women’s basketball team took on undefeated side Sheffield Hatters this past weekend. Sitting joint first at the top of the league, Sheffield came into the game with the hopes of retaining the top spot, while the Rebels looked to bounce back from a loss against Leicester the week before. Unfortunately for the Rebels, it was Sheffield who came out on top of a thrilling game. 

The first quarter was a tight, back and forth game, as both teams looked to gain their footing. However, as the teams entered the second quarter the momentum fully shifted in Sheffield’s favour as they looked unstoppable dropping in 27 points. 

Despite the deficit at the half, the Rebels came out with renewed energy, using a full-court press to disrupt Sheffield and were able to get the game back within reach. With their lead down to 5 at one point, Sheffield amped up their offensive power once again, and scored 3 quick baskets in a row and never looked back, with a final score of 82-68. 

Head Coach Tom Sadler had this to say after the game, “If we can play like we did in the second half, for the full 40-minutes, we win this game. We just came out flat to start and Sheffield took advantage. Our big focus the last few weeks has been executing the little things, and unfortunately, we didn’t do that today. We allowed second chance opportunities and didn’t take care of the ball.”

Top Performers:

Essex Rebels – 

Angel Waithe – 22 points, 12 rebounds

Ashleigh Munns – 14 points

Sheffield Hatters – 

Helen Naylor – 34 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals

Ariona Gill – 16 points, 7 rebounds

Georgia Gayle – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

The Rebels look to get back to their winning ways next week, as Nottingham travels down to the University of Essex Arena on Saturday, 11th December.