Kats U18 Women v Glasgow Rocks
Kats come up short in cup tie
The junior girls were on the road for their Friday night Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against the Rocks in a very warm St Maurice's venue.
A slow start saw the Kats down by 8 after only 4 minutes, but following a series of steals and defensive stops were able to claw back the deficit. Turnovers were a feature for both sides meaning neither club could really establish a lead, and at half time Rocks had a 5 point advantage.
Kats came out determined in the 3rd quarter, capitalising on some sloppy Rocks passing and cutting the lead to 2, forcing a Rocks time out. Having made adjustments, Rocks took care of the ball better and continued with their defensive pressure. Up until midway through the 4th quarter there was nothing between the teams but on the back of a couple of steals and converted lay-ups rocks began to pull away. Despite their efforts, Kats were unable to bridge the gap and lost 71-62.
Though a disappointing loss, Kats are far from out, focussing their attentions now on league and play-off performances.
Kats U16 Women v Polonia
The Cadette Women started their Scottish Cup campaign this year with a short trip away to Polonia at the Crags. After a promising second half performance the previous weekend at Rocks, we were hoping to maintain a good level of intensity in our defence and improve our shooting percentage at the other end.
A slow but steady first quarter saw Kats dominate the rebounding battle at both ends but switched off occasionally to let their player get to the basket which meant that they only led 15-11 after the first quarter.
With all players hitting the court in the first half we were able to keep a freshness to our defence and our intensity improved, with excellent hustle plays leading to fast break baskets, meaning we were able to go in at half time up 34-15.
With a good lead established this was the time to try out new sets in preparation for some tough upcoming league matches. The girls looked comfortable in their full court defence and everyone took real confidence from the turnovers that were forced and points that we converted as we won the quarter 28-12.
The final period saw the 6 Polonia players run out of steam as we were able to get the ball up the floor early before their defence was set. Our footwork at the other end got a bit lazy but we were still able to come out winners, with a final score of 70-44, and progress to the next round. We had 10 different scorers, led by Niamh Walker with 21 points.
