The Tigers' women march on towards the National Division 2 following their comfortable 60 – 41 win over Plymouth.
It wasn't all plain sailing though as Plymouth threatened to end the Taunton's winning streak with a spirited performance. Indeed it was the travelling south-west rivals who leapt out to 10 – 3 early lead with fast break and inside scores against the shocked Tigers. Frost (17 points) in particular found life too easy in the Tigers' paint.
Plymouth's tight zone defence continued to frustrate the Tigers throughout the first half as Taunton's outside shooters struggled early on. The home team began to turn up the heat led by Abby Pow on defence to generate steals but failure to convert chances on the break allowed Plymouth to stay in the game as the first half ended 29 – 28 to Tigers.
Head Coach Ronnie Heath kept faith in his bench players rotating throughout and they rewarded him with much better ball movement in the second half. Emma Gough (10 points) and Emily Farthing (13 points) both came off the bench to be Taunton's best performing offensive players and as Plymouth tired the Tigers were able to stretch away for a 19 point victory.
A win against Plymouth away this Thursday evening, followed by another victory over the much stiffer challenge of Guernsey at SCAT on Saturday 6th March (tip-off 3.45pm) would set up a final game showdown against UWIC, the current league leaders, on the road to the play-offs.
Team Manager, Jim Hartston, put the performance in context,
“In the first quarter the players appeared as if they had turned up for a social event! However, the girls showed terrific character in the way they turned things around and showed tremendous energy and spirit in securing an all important win. I've no doubt that this game will prove a very valuable lesson in their development, particularly in this league, where nothing can be taken for granted and there are no easy games.”