Never-say-die Willis gets the W for Eagles

WITH 36 seconds left of the third quarter, Newcastle Eagles guard/ forward Zoe Willis made a two-point turnaround jump shot to give her side their biggest lead of the night at 60-41, writes JEFF KING.

Eight minutes and 47 seconds later, with 1:49 left to play in the final quarter, Joice Leavold’s two-point jump shot gave Nottingham Wildcats their only lead of the night at 67-66 to complete a remarkable turnaround that no-one had seen coming.

Luckily for Newcastle, Willis stepped up again and hit a dagger triple from the left corner that took the Eagles back in front and, in a frantic and chaotic finish, they took a hugely vital win in the play-off race.

At the sound of the final buzzer, Newcastle’s subdued and muted celebrations at managing to take the W probably summed up the feeling in the Vertu Motors Arena as a sense of disbelief turned to full-on relief.

For 30 minutes of the game, head coach Matt Newby’s Eagles looked to be coasting to a deserved victory. But a combination of turnovers, a loss of discipline and a sense of frustration almost handed Wildcats an unlikely win.

Willis, who had a season-high ten points and stepped up when needed, said at the end of a turbulent encounter: “It was a must-win. We came out very strong in the first half and in the second we kind of had our dips but managed to get it over the line eventually.

“I think we made it difficult for ourselves and they didn’t earn that comeback.

“We had many areas that came down to individual and team mistakes turning over the ball in areas where we shouldn’t.

“Being composed in times down the stretch when we needed to be and weren’t, and we have to do a better job of game management.”

The Eagles had to do without new USA forward Jada Dapaa, who has looked a great addition. She was ruled out and potentially faces a long stretch on the sidelines.

But, with Katie Nolan in dominant form from the off, Newcastle had sprinted out of the blocks at the beginning of the game with a magnificent 13-1 start that gave them the cushion they needed to build a great platform for the contest.

Although Nottingham did improve and hit back, the Seriös Group Eagles looked comfortable at half-time heading to the locker room 47-33 ahead.

That comfort factor grew during the third quarter as they established that 19-point lead before the wild Wildcats comeback.

Newcastle somehow held on to pick up their fifth win of the season and for now consolidate their play-off position as they stand sixth in the standings. Nolan, who actually took the MVP honours, stressed the importance of such a big win.

“I think we got a little bit frustrated as a team disagreeing with some of the calls that were happening which got in our heads. But luckily we’re a pretty close-knit group of people so we were able to come together and say it is what it is and it’s our basketball that we have to play.

“We stuck together and stuck that one out which was really big for us. A lot of our team stepped up. The scoring distribution was even and we had a lot of assists and managed to get the win in the end.”

EAGLES TOP SCORERS: Tierra Hodges 20, Katie Nolan 18, Marina Fernandez 11, Zoe Willis 10.