Milton Keynes Breakers (89) v Walsall Queens (62)
The game between MK Breakers Women and Walsall Queens at the Bletchley Leisure Centre last Saturday proved to be a game of two halves regarding the performance of the home team. MK dominated the first half as they raced to a 14 point lead after the first quarter (25-11) and a 27 point lead by half-time (54-27). At times, the team had looked unstoppable, but after the mid-game break everything changed.
The well-coached Walsall team switched to a combination defence that confused the hosts. MK had prepared for a normal triangle-and-two, but the Walsall defence was anything but normal. Through the third period, the defence frustrated the Breakers players and slowed their scoring right down. Fortunately, MK’s defence remained solid but the positivity, organisation and energy that had been apparent in the first half evaporated.
Having been overpowered in the first half, Walsall turned the game around completely and won the third quarter by 4 points (13-17). Whilst this put a small dent in MK’s lead, the team made some adjustments in the fourth quarter that resulted in 22 points being added to their total, but not with the fluidity that had been on show in the earlier part of the game. MK had kept Walsall’s star three-point shooter quiet for most of the game, but she did have an impact in the final phase. Although Walsall had their best quarter, MK were able to claim back the four points they’d lost in the third. To the visitors’ credit they matched MK through the second half and left the hosts feeling fortunate that they hadn’t faced the combination defence for the whole game.
Sarah Round, Vanessa Obanor and Lauren Dabbs all reached double figures, scoring 23, 17 and 12 respectively and Kirsten Moran (8), Fran Musson (7), Courtney Gray (7) and Lauren Milne (6) all made valuable contributions.
Reflecting on the game afterwards, Coach Round commented, “The Walsall Coach did a great job preparing his team and I got distracted by their tactics. In hindsight, I should have encouraged my players to focus more on the offences we run, rather than the defence they were playing.” He added, “We had an amazing first half, but we need to look at how we maintain our composure and energy when things aren’t going our way.”
MK Women will face Hemel Storm in St Albans on Saturday. Last time the two teams met, MK won what was a close, high-quality, exciting game. They’ll be hoping for a similar outcome for the away fixture.