Cardiff Celts are the current leaders of Division 2 and are presently beating all sides before them — perhaps not the ideal place to visit when team confidence is on the wane! Cardiff got off to an excellent start, helped once again by Tigers turn-overs which again were cost the team dear. To add insult to injury, ex Tigers Academy player, Emma Gough, now playing for the Celts put the first 4 points on the board!
Tigers battled away and restored parity, until 9 unanswered points at the end of the quarter by the Celts took them into a 22 – 10 1st quarter lead. Things didn't get better in the 2nd quarter as Gough continued to pile on the agony with another 10 points as Celts pushed into the half-time break leading 43 – 22. Some serious talking, not least from the team themselves, resulted in a more focused and galvanized Tigers team taking the floor. Steve Green continued to rotate the bench and introduced another junior, Annie De Silva, to Division 2 basketball.
Early scores by Celts were matched equally by Tigers as first Aimee Brook, returning from injury, and the ever-dependable Abby Pow, each hit long range 3 pointers to retain parity throughout the quarter at 13 points apiece. More intensity and fewer turnovers took the game completely to Tigers in the last quarter as they hit 13 unanswered points to take the quarter 20 – 9, but lose the game 66 – 55. Jenny Ridgway led Tigers scorers with 14 points, whilst Emily Farthing and Abby Pow collected 8 points apiece.
Tigers coach, Steve Green has been left with much to ponder over the past few weeks,
“Despite the results not going our way, there are many real positives to take from the past 3 weeks. We are being openly praised by all of our opponents as a young and capable side. In reality, although we are still a development squad, our target this season should remain play-off contention — we are more than capable of achieving that so let's do it! On an individual level, some players have really stepped up their game in the past few weeks — collectively we haven't quite clicked. Unforced turn-overs have continued to punish the team and, whilst we are scoring more freely at the offensive end, we are not defending as effectively as we would expect from a Tigers team. A more focused approach is called for and I will be looking for this in the run up to an important time in our season.”