Worcester Wolves 36-47 East London Phoenix

Saturday 15^th April 2023

By Ria Kaur

Worcester Wolves will be disappointed with their loss against East London Phoenix this week with the match ending 36-47. Although the game ended in defeat there are many positives the Wolves can take away from the game. After trailing in the first half Worcester worked hard to get themselves back into the game and almost had their hands on a victory, however they fell short towards the end.

The first quarter saw Wolves get off to a slow start unable to find a basket. East London Phoenix opened the game with Jade Hamer scoring the first points. Phoenix’s strong defences restricted Wolves to just two points, scored by Jade Loughlin. Although Phoenix was looking energetic in the first quarter with consistent shots from Bethany Wheeler,  Worcester was also strong defensively and by the end of the first quarter they trailed by eight. (2-10)

Wolves needed to add to their score to reduce their trail and take the pressure off. Both Niamh Horan and Ellen Fraser picked up points throughout the quarter, but East London Phoenix were able to increase their game more rapidly making it difficult for Wolves to close the gap in the score. A shot by Sarah Hope in the last thirty seconds meant the quarter ended 12-18 with Wolves trailing by six.

After half-time Worcester was looking confident and eager to score. Wolves were able to pick up their momentum and the trail was steadily closing. The tone of the game had changed as Worcester began to dominate the quarter, and their chances of winning seemed to increase. Phoenix was now slowly losing their trail as Wolves began to catch up to being just one point behind. The quarter ended 26-27.

The Wolves had to keep up the stable and fast paced play they had demonstrated in the third quarter in order to secure their chances of winning. Jade Hamer gave Phoenix a good head start in the quarter picking up six points in the first part. Unfortunately, Wolves began to lose their grip on the trail and Phoenix moved steadily ahead with Bethany Wheeler shooting frequently throughout the quarter. Towards the end the game had slipped out of Worcester’s hands, and it ended 36-47.

The highest scorer of the game was Bethany Wheeler with 21 points followed by Jade Hamer with 14 points and Sarah Hope with 12 points.

Worcester Wolves next match will be an away game where they will be facing Cardiff Met Archers on Saturday 29^th April 2023 at 2pm.

Image: Dave Dunbar