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The
National Cadettes (Under-16) team have a 1-1 record after defeating
Macedonia yesterday in the Challenge Round of the 15th European
Championships in Croatia. England were eager to come out flying
against the Macedonian team after losing their opener to the hosts,
Croatia, on Tuesday evening. The Under-16s play the Slovak Republic
this afternoon in a crucial game where a win could well mean a
third seed in their group and a ticket to the Final.
The first match versus Croatia was predicted to be tough from
the onset. Despite a 10-2 run to begin the game, England could
not keep pace with the home side as they cruised to a 68-50 victory.
Helen Naylor led England with 11 points while Angelina Browne
from the TCI Northants Lightning scored 9.
Croatia 68 (12, 26, 19, 11)
England 50 (12, 5, 19, 14)
Wednesday’s game against Macedonia was a different story
for the Under-16s. England had a distinct height advantage and
used this to their benefit by implementing a 1-2-2 zone defence.
This defence kept the Macedonians outside and England managed
several easy baskets on their transition fastbreaks. Five of our
players had double figure point totals including Chantelle Handy
netting 13 while Lauren Thomas-Johnson and Angelina scored 10
a piece.
England 81 (23, 28, 22, 8)
FYR Macedonia 56 (12, 16, 18, 10)
The importance of today’s match versus the Slovak Republic
cannot be underestimated. Slovakia lost two close games versus
the Ukraine and Germany – both of which they could have
won. There is little doubt that today’s match versus England
is one they will try to avoid let ‘slip away’.
Source:
EB
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