WBBL Season Review
A highly promising and successful season for the WBBL Eagles. Cup and Trophy exits to all conquering Sevenoaks Suns but a title chasing season for the Eagles until the Coronovirus pandemic caused the season to be cancelled.
The season started with the WBBL Trophy and a big win against Caledonia Pride in the first match up (48-73). The second matchup in the Trophy group stages was against the Sevenoaks Suns the day after the win against Pride. Sevenoaks Suns ran away with the match in the end at 81-57 despite a 18 point performance from Georgia Ohrdorf. As only the top team in our mini group qualified for the next round it was Sevenoaks Suns who progressed.
Next up for the WBBL Eagles was a home tie against Cardiff Met Archers in the WBBL Cup. What followed was the largest win of the season! 95-44 with big numbers being put up by Anja Fuchs-Robetin (20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) and Mante Kvederaviciute (26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists). They moved into the next round of the Cup and the tie would be played in December against Manchester Mystics. For now though, attention turned to the start of the league championship.
First on the agenda was another meeting with Sevenoaks Suns, this time at home at the ECA. Although the game was a lot closer than the meeting in the Trophy, the Eagles were always behind and despite a strong fourth quarter they had left themselves too much to do. A first win in the championship wasn’t far away as Essex Rebels travelled up north. The Eagles running out winners by 90-80 with a HUGE 28 point and 15 rebound performance from Lisa Koop. This victory started an 8 game winning streak in the Championship.
The short away trip to Durham was next on the fixture list and this provided arguably the performance of the season against a strong Durham side, that only just missed out on Cup triumph this season. The Eagles won 58-73 with another fantastic team performance with Georgia Ohrdorf scoring 20 points and grabbing 17 rebounds! Rachael Bland, for the second match in a row, put on a strong performance scoring 23 points and 15 rebounds across the 2 matches.
Manchester Mystics were next to feel the full force of the WBBL Eagles with the Eagles winning by 68-83. Mante Kvederaviciute was the next to star for the WBBL Eagles as Sheffield Hatters were defeated. Mante’s near triple double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists leading the way for another memorable victory. The last league meeting before the next round of the cup was a big win away at Cardiff Met Archers.
Back to the cup, this time another meeting with Manchester Mystics. This time the match was slightly closer than the previous meeting but the Eagles still walked away with the home win. It was another fantastic performance with everyone contributing to the team performance.
In mid December, a short handed roster took the trip to Oaklands Wolves with the Eagles winning 69-96.
Lisa Koop (20 points, 21 rebounds, 3 blocks)
Rachael Bland ( 6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists)
Georgia Ohrdorf (24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals)
Mante Kvederaviciute (31 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals)
Anja Fuchs-Robetin (15 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists)
A brilliant set of stats! A very exciting team to watch.
The cup quarter final was next and Sevenoaks Suns were the opponents. This was the closest of the 3 matches this season. The Eagles were ahead at half time and at the third quarter break but couldn’t hold on for the win despite leading with only 1 minute left. This team deserved to win some silverware this season so it was a shame the Sevenoaks won again but they are certainly a team to be proud of.
Back to the league action and the Eagles were 6 games into their 8 game winning streak in the league. The final two victories came against Caledonia Pride (72-47) and Nottingham Wildcats (68-66).
Defeat came at the hands of Leicester Riders and Sara Hinriksdottir, who was named in the team of the season. She finished with 27 points and 6 rebounds. The match finished 61-63.
Following the defeat to Leicester the Eagles won their next 3 matches. 2 against London Lions and then a 2 point win against Essex Rebels.
The final game of the season, due to Covid-19, was a defeat to Sheffield Hatters. It was a shame to finish the season with a defeat but overall it was a strong season the Eagles could be very proud of. Georgia Ohrdorf was named in the TUBPodcast team of the season and others in the team would not have been far away from making an appearance. At the end of this season we say goodbye to Giulia Simioni and Georgia Ohrdorf who have been a joy to watch in their time in the North East.
Could silverware head to the WBBL Eagles next season? We sure hope so!
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