By Jamie Thomas
Going into the biggest game of her season so far, Anna Lappenküper appears to be hitting her best form as she goes into this weekend’s WBBL Cup semi-final against the Newcastle Eagles off the back of an explosive 35-point performance in a vital win against the rolling Essex Rebels.
The young German guard is developing into a real cornerstone of the Riders’ success, as the well-balanced roster with its blend of experience and youthful exuberance looks to be improving by the week, and we caught up with the 23-year-old ahead of this weekend’s Newcastle clash to find out more.
“Essex was an important game for us to win and one we spent the whole week preparing for in terms of going over their scout and so on. We put in a great team effort – especially after the changes the team has gone through in terms of players and coaches – and we are all very proud to win there.
“I didn’t really know how many points I had until after the game, but even though I had 35 I don’t really dwell on it nor have time to because we have so many games in the WBBL and in BUCS, so we’re always looking ahead to the next game – especially the next one coming up!
“I’ve had to adjust a lot from last year to this year, because my role is very different now. There is a lot more to come from me, I think, as I’m being asked to be a bit more of a leader and do more on offence on the court, so hopefully I get to show more of what I can do.”
“No win can be taken for granted regardless of how good you are.”
A clash between these two sides with so much on the line will naturally evoke memories of May Madness, where the then-seventh-seeded Eagles faced off against the Riders in the WBBL Playoff quarter-finals.
With the Riders heavy favourites due to their league standings and superb record, only bettered by the Sevenoaks Suns, the Eagles pulled off a shock victory as they completely negated Leicester to send them home from the post-season. Lappenküper featured in that fixture and discussed its significance ahead of the weekend’s semi-final.
“That is definitely a game that people won’t forget so quickly, and especially for us because it was a very frustrating night and something I’ve definitely learned from, but a lot of the team has changed since then so won’t have that experience to draw upon so it won’t be on our minds too much.
“No win can be taken for granted regardless of how good you are or what your record, especially not in the playoffs, because there are so many well-balanced teams and anybody can beat one of the best teams, and that is definitely something I learned last year because you never know what is going to happen.
“To know a final is at stake is a really good motivator, but we’re just taking it step-by-step. The talent in the league is so good, I love it, and makes for so many competitive games, makes us better players and is a really positive challenge for all of us.”
“We’ve got so much talent that anybody is capable of having a night like I had.”
The Riders have developed a very well-balanced group of players with plenty of evidence already having been put forward this year that anybody on the roster can take over and win a game for the team.
Four players on the Riders roster have accrued averages of over 11 points per game already this season in the WBBL Championship and another is in double figures in the Cup competition, so contributions can and have come from everywhere, and Lappenküper discussed that strength in depth as well as how this new-look roster compares to last year’s side.
“We literally just talked about how diverse a group we are in practice and how that is one of our biggest strengths, because we’ve got so much talent that anybody is capable of having a night like I had last weekend and we don’t really have that one top scorer, so it is harder to scout for us, because any one of us could take over.
“I think the biggest difference is the age and experience of the group. Last year with Kate (Oliver) and Azania (Stewart) we had so much experience in the team, so it was easier for players like me and Hannah Robb who were relatively young to fill a role to match their expectations.
“The contrast to this year is that this is such a young team now that the likes of Hannah and I and the other younger players from that team have to step up more and be leaders of this group, which is a learning experience for us all, but we’ve adjusted well and still have the same hunger.”
“We know if we want to win anything this year we’re going to have to beat those teams.”
The Riders have already experienced their fair share of personnel changes so far in this young season, with alterations made on and off the court at this early stage, but their young leader is clearly proud of the team’s togetherness and discusses how their two defeats in Championship action has helped them develop for the rest of the season.
“We’re more than just a team, we’re a really close family that has always gotten on really well, so regardless of what is happening in terms of personnel we know that winning is the main goal and we’ve managed to continue doing that quite well.”
“We’ve developed into a strong transition team, we are a very quick group and although we lost to Sheffield it was a very close game and gave us a lot to learn from, and even against London we played quite well overall – they were just better – so there is definitely more to come.
“We know if we want to win anything this year that we’re going to have to beat those teams and we’re only getting better so if we keep moving in the right direction then hopefully we can beat them.”