Eagles make strong surge to snap Pride
WBBL Trophy, Group Stage
Newcastle Eagles 80-64 Caledonia Pride (32-20,51-37,63-58)
Both teams ended their participation in this year’s WBBL Trophy and it was the home side who did so on a winning note.
The Eagles took second place in the Group and gained revenge for a loss earlier in the competition to their opponents.
Leading scorers – Kara Bonenberger 18, Giulia Simioni 14, Kalina Axentieva 14 (Eagles) – Tia Weledji 21, Hannah Robb 17, Sian Phillips 10 (Pride)
Turning point – As Pride threatened to come back by cutting the gap to just 5 points at the end of the third period, they continued to hang around. But, with just under 6 minutes left, the Eagles turned up the defensive heat and Pride wilted. They scored only one further basket in the rest of the contest.
Key stat – Pride relied hugely on a perimeter game and if you are going to jack up 31 triple attempts, you need to make more than 7 of them.
Game hero – Giulia Simioni had a double-double by half-time and eventually harvested 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kara Bonenberger excelled as well, registering 18 points and 11 rebounds.