Worcester Wolves 35-47 East London Phoenix

Sunday February 26th 2023

By Ria Kaur

Worcester Wolves fell to East London Phoenix with their first home game of the season ending 35-47. Worcester had some great chances, but just fell short on taking advantage of them.

East London Phoenix won the tip off, which allowed them to have an early lead of 6. This was quickly changed by Niamh Horan who scored the first two points for Wolves.  Worcester was able to pick up the pace towards the end of the quarter with four points scored by Sarah Hope. The quarter ended 8-10 with Worcester trailing by 2.

The beginning of the second quarter saw the score level out 10-10 with a great jump shot from Jade Loughlin. The Wolves began to show a strong defensive side and kept the pressure on East London Phoenix. Good shots by Phoenix’s Bethany Wheeler and Curran Brown got them back to a 6-point lead. Worcester was able to gather some momentum during this quarter but were just unable to maintain it, whilst Phoenix was able to expand on their score.

At half time the score was 16-23.

In the third quarter Worcester was looking to capitalize on their play and increase their score. Phoenix was able to create space and push out their opponents, giving them more opportunities to score which Wolves could not always stop. Worcester was unable to contain the consistent shots made from Amy Conroy, Beth Wheeler, and Sophie Carrigill in the first part of the quarter. However, Sarah Hope picked up an impressive 5 points in the last minute of the third quarter, making the score 30-37 with Worcester trailing by 7.

Worcester went into the final quarter looking to shorten their trail and get a big score. However, they were only able to concede 5 points in the final quarter, which was not enough for them to be able to win the game. Phoenix was able to contain the Wolves as they weren’t able to gain the momentum they needed in the last period. The match ended 35-47.

Even though Worcester was not the victorious team Sarah Hope was the highest scorer in the match earning 20 points for the Wolves and had the highest number of rebounds with 13. For Phoenix their highest scorer was Bethany Wheeler with 18 points and 4 assists.

Worcester Wolves next game will be another home game, they will be taking on Loughborough Lightning on Sunday 19^th March at 1pm.

Image – Dave Dunbar.