Crucial game for injury-hit women’s side

THE Newcastle Eagles face Oaklands Wolves in the Vertu Motors Arena tonight in a crucial Women’s Basketball League game that could decide their end of season destiny and final play-off position, writes Jeff King.

After a really tough couple of weeks losing vital players through injury and a derby clash against Durham Palatinates, as well as a tough encounter the following day against Caledonia Gladiators, the clash against Oakland could be seen as a must-win game.

Head coach Matt Newby does not quite see it that way as he looked back, before he looked forward, in assessing his team’s current position.

“You can’t legislate for the injuries that have occurred this season you can only respond and react and for the most part I felt the girls had responded well in practice and I felt the preparation for Durham was appropriate.”

“Unfortunately, we didn’t come out of the traps the right way and probably lacked some composure at certain points of the game. But there were some positives to come out of it as well.”

“We managed to get the shots up we wanted but unfortunately we couldn’t get enough of them to fall. It’s a game that meant a lot to us but we came out of it not having really given a fair representation of ourselves as individuals and as a collective.”

“In a sense, although the result doesn’t show it, we bounced back well in terms of the physicality we showed against Caledonia. We showed great heart and determination but they have a great deal of depth and are very strong this season.”

“I felt we got a better collective performance in that game despite the result and I felt pretty positive despite the results we’d had which in someways shows what basketball is all about.”

“In terms of what’s next it’s not just about Oaklands. We know there’s 120 minutes of the regular season left and every one of those minutes count. All three of those fixtures we need to win to give us the sixth place in the league and the girls understand that.”

Eagles have both Cardiff and Manchester to play after tonight’s game. Very winnable games on paper and that perhaps makes the Oaklands game all the more important.

“Each individual needs to give us their best and as a collective we need to get the highest return possible,” said Newby