By Jamie Thomas
Having led the WBBL in scoring for much of the season and put in some outrageous performances throughout the year, Newcastle Eagles number 23 Alison Gorrell now turns her attention to May Madness and the upcoming WBBL Playoffs where she and her teammates are hoping to cause an upset.
We caught up with Gorrell ahead of the playoffs to discuss the team’s fearlessness going into the post-season and the inspiring collective growth of the team throughout of the year, but the first thing the Eagles captain was keen to point out was her pride for her club’s performances this term.
“I’m so proud of this club, this has been one of the most fulfilling seasons I’ve had, because of the adversity we’ve all faced. We’ve had a completely different team, a completely different starting five, so to see some of the players really grow this year into spots they weren’t initially comfortable with and now doing really well to turn the season around has been the most fulfilling part.
“Playoffs have a whole different level of intensity than any other time of the year, and we play all season to try and prepare for this time of year. Every team wants to peak at this time, so there’s just another level of intensity and excitement around the playoffs that is really fun.”
“We’ve just got to be fearless.”
Set to face one of the league’s leading teams in the post-season, the Eagles will be going into their quarter-final fixture as underdogs, but you get the sense from Gorrell that she and her teammates will relish that tag as she discusses the growth and competitiveness of the WBBL this year as well as the one quality the Eagles will need to show to stand them in good stead.
“I’ve loved the competition this year. The growth in the league has been amazing – there are great players on every single team and the level of play from everybody is really good. Teams from top to bottom can all beat each other on any day, and it is really fun to be a part of.
“We’ve just got to be fearless, we can’t hold anything back – we have nothing to lose, we’re not expected to win so there’s no reason for us to be nervous or scared. We just need to put our best foot forward, leave it all on the court and hopefully the ball goes in a few times for us and we can pull out a win.
“To be successful would mean a lot more than a lot of other playoffs victories, just because of the adversity and how much we’ve all had to step up. This team is so close, so it would be really special to achieve something with them – we’re all very excited for each other, we celebrate each other’s success – and I think all of that would make success much more special.”
“We can take on anybody and we really have nothing to lose.”
There have been ‘surprise’ results aplenty in the regular season, which is testament to the competitiveness that Gorrell outlined previously, and the Eagles haven’t been too far away from causing some themselves as they’ve ran Sevenoaks and London close in previous encounters, as well as securing wins over Nottingham and Essex.
A post-season surprise is certainly something the Eagles want to deliver though, and Gorrell discussed why the lack of expectations on the team could help them achieve that.
“We’re looking forward to causing an upset, that’s what we’re aiming for, for sure. We’ve had some really big wins in this second half of the season and had some really close games against the top teams, so that gives us a lot of confidence and we know it just comes down to one game.
“If we come ready to play we can take on anybody and we really have nothing to lose. We’re going in the lower seed and if we leave it all out there, who knows what could happen.
“We tend to be a lot more aggressive against the bigger teams, much more scrappy with our defence, and not holding back at all, whereas maybe in games where we’re more expected to win there may be some nerves that creep in, but when we feel loose and play aggressive we’re at our best.
“Across the board I think everybody has stepped up and developed.”
Whilst Gorrell leads all key statistics for the Eagles this season, with the most points, rebounds, assists and steals per game in the Championship for her team, the growth of her teammates around her in what has been a very turbulent season can’t be overlooked, and the club captain was keen to point out that collective growth, as well as what it means to represent this historic club.
“I feel in a pretty good rhythm, but it has really helped that my teammates have really stepped up as well which makes everything easier for me with everybody else able to get going a bit more, allowing me to do whatever I need to do in any game to help us get the win.
“Across the board I think everybody has stepped up and developed, but I think Abi (Lowe) has been a huge example of that. She just comes in and does it all – she’s probably one of the best defenders in the league, she can score, she is so versatile and gets a lot of deflections. Orieoma (Chukwu-Etu) has been unbelievable, she’s got so much fight; I want to mention everybody, but it truly is the whole group that has elevated its game.
“We’re representing a proud tradition of basketball in the area and I think that’s huge. This programme and the arena has been so much fun to play in, because we know what it means to be able to do that, and getting to share it with a successful men’s team, you just know you’re involved in a high-calibre programme and we want to represent well every time we’re on the court.”