Eagles heading into revenge mission on high, says Lowe
BASKETBALL
NEWCASTLE Eagles will go into the British Basketball League play-off quarter final with real momentum after their massive 93-49 win over the Manchester Giants.
The big win on Saturday night meant that the Eagles secured the sixth seed and placing in the final Women’s BBL table, and will now travel to Sheffield to take on The Hatters in a one-off elimination game on Sunday afternoon.
Star British guard/forward Abby Lowe led Newcastle on the night with an excellent 25 points, adding in seven rebounds for good measure.
“We’re good, we’re rolling. We’re on a roll and we’re ready for the playoffs,” she said.
“It was a really good way, a very good way to have the last home game and was a really good way to end the regular season and roll into the play-offs with all this energy with us.
“I think we’ve shown a bit of inconsistency in the past and what we need in the play-offs is consistency throughout every single game and all the way through. When we play consistently with all five of us locked in together we’re really hard to stop.”
Lowe received excellent support from all around her on a night when 813 fans saw Newcastle produce their best performance of the season. Tierra Hodges had 21 points and 18 rebounds, Marina Fernandez had 18 points, Jada Dappa had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Lauren Saiki had six points and 12 assists.
But as well as giving her teammates credit for their efforts, Lowe also had a word for head coach Matt
Newby. “I think Matt coming in has been really good. The people around me are really good,” she said.
“Everyone here really believes in me. Having so much positive reinforcement around me makes it a really good environment to thrive in.
“When we played Sheffield last time it was a tough, tough loss at home. I’m very happy to get the chance to avenge that game.”
That last loss to Sheffield was by a very narrow margin, 76-74, and Newcastle were without powerful USA forward Dapaa, who returned to the roster on Saturday night in style.