East London Phoenix 66-35 Worcester Wolves

Sunday 2nd April 2023

By Ria Kaur

Worcester Wolves were unable to secure a win this weekend against East London Phoenix with the game ending 66-35. After their first win last week Wolves will be disheartened with the results but can take away areas to improve as well as positive from the game.

Worcester got off to a strong start, winning the tip off and picking up a quick four points from Ellen Fraser and Sarah Hope. The Wolves were looking confident and were the dominant side in this quarter, they kept the pressure on the Phoenix with their defence and restricted them to scoring their first point halfway through the quarter. Wolves maintained their lead and built on their offensive play, taking advantage of offensives rebounds and fouls. East London Phoenix was confined to a low score and the quarter ended 5-13 with Worcester leading by eight.

The second quarter took a drastic turn for Wolves with Phoenix making an explosive comeback and the lead slipping out of Worcester’s hands. Phoenix’s Jude Hamer picked up six points in the early part helping Phoenix to turn the game around. Wolves were unable to reciprocate this and could not maintain the strong game they had demonstrated in the first quarter as they only scored once throughout the second one. Once Phoenix had turned the game around, they seemed unstoppable with Bethany Wheeler scoring from the three-point line and then picking up a further two points. The quarter ended 25-15 with Wolves now trailing by ten.

All eyes were on Wolves in the third quarter to see how they would respond. Niamh Horan gained four points for her side, reducing the Wolves trail by eight. However, Phoenix continued to find the basket and both Bethany Wheeler and Jude Hamer could not be held back as they both made huge contributions to Phoenix’s score. Wolves unfortunately increasingly struggled as the game went on, they weren’t able to contain Phoenix from scoring with their defences and could not consistently score when they needed to. The end of the quarter saw an increased trail for Wolves, who were now behind by 17 and the score was 40-23.

Phoenix kept up their shooting pace in the last quarter a continued to dominate the game. Wolves were looking to rely on Sarah Hope to put points on the board however, she was heavily defended throughout the majority of the game. Wolves picked up 12 points in the final quarter which was not nearly enough to give them a chance at victory. The game ended 66-35.

The highest scorer of the game was Phoenix’s Jude Hamer with 29 points followed by Bethany Wheeler with 19 points and 6 assists. Sarah Hope was the highest scorer for Wolves with 10 points and 3 assists.

Worcester Wolves next match will be a home game and they will meet East London Phoenix once again on Saturday 15^th April 2023.