Taunton Tigers Women continued their New Year unbeaten winning run when they defeated UWIC Archers in an amazing low scoring game at the Welsh National Indoor Athletic Centre to retain joint top spot of National League Division 2. Their win owed much to a solid and workman like performance, rather than the sparkling basketball that they have been produced of late.
Tigers had beaten UWIC comfortably earlier in the season, so it was not surprising that the team travelled to Cardiff with a fair degree of confidence, despite a late withdrawal through sickness by guard Nicky Hartston.
Nothing could have prepared either side for an extraordinarily low scoring first half. Although Tigers set off at their usual blistering pace, an over inflated match ball, coupled with an over sprung floor, and poor court markings, contrived to make scoring an absolute lottery, and almost impossible for either side. Scoring was limited to extremely accurate, slow paced shots, free throws, or mere flukes. Tigers normal paced lay ups off the backboard cannoned back into court at a rate of knots, until the team, particularly Abby Pow and Hannah Watkins, belatedly started to slowly come to terms with the limited shot options open to them, as Tigers disappointedly trailed 15 – 11 at half time.
A welcome half-time break, plus a replacement of the offending match ball by the referees, changed the shape of the game for Tigers, as they started the second half with 7 unanswered points in the first 3 minutes. Point guards Jenny Ridgway and Hanna Byrne upped the intensity of the whole team at the defensive end and also led the offensive fight back for Tigers. Tiger's power forwards, Laura Dyke and Emily Farthing, increasingly found space inside to add to the teams account as Tigers led 30 – 22 at the three-quarter stage. Good running By Hannah Maddock and Ellie Leader, who made a series of tremendous, but un-rewarded drives for the basket, added pace on the outside as Tigers finished strongly and took the game 47 – 29.
Coach, Steve Green, was philosophical about the result,
“We found ourselves in an unfamiliar situation today as we trailed at the half and, because of circumstances, struggled to score. The girls dug deep and they should be proud of their efforts in a difficult game which had the possibility of throwing us off course — the fact it didn't is all down to them.”