First loss of the season against Nottingham UNI

NOTTINGHAM VS BLUES

By Cristina Gomez

The away game last Wednesday saw the Blues' first loss of the season against the University ofNottingham. Low in numbers, the Blues were not able to keep up their usual energy and lost 80-48 against the hosts.

The first quarter began with a quick layup by Nottingham, countered by a bucket by Cambridge after a long possession. The first 5 minutes of the game were even as both teams ran up and down the court in a series of intense offensive plays. However, the hosts managed to get ahead on the score board as Cambridge failed to convert their shots. The quarter closed with Nottingham aheadby 9 points, 26-17.

The 2016/2017 Cambridge University Women's Blues team Missing: Jess Hunt and Amalio Fernandez Pacheco (Head Coach)

Then, in the second quarter Nottingham completely overpowered the Blues on offence, with strong penetrations to the basket and excellent three point shooting. Meanwhile, Cambridge was struggling to add points to their score as shots kept rebounding off the rim. The Blues only managed to score 9 points compared to Nottingham's 31 in this period, leaving the visitors behind by an important 31 point margin.

Preferring to give up contested shots over layups, Cambridge opted to switch to a zone defence in the second half of the game. This enabled them to slow down Nottingham but the opposition still managed to score 20 points in the third quarter thanks to high shooting accuracy, whilst Cambridge could not break their bad luck and only increased their score by 9 points in ten minutes (again).

Despite Nottingham's 32 point lead, the Blues kept fighting through the final quarter and managed to keep the score of the period more even at 15-11. However, it was too little too late. Nottingham had already obtained a lead far too significant for Cambridge to close in just 10 minutes and there was nothing left for the Blues to do. It was a tough loss for the Cambridge women but they walked off the court with renewed motivation to increase intensity in training sessions and plan their come back next week against Loughborough.

Location: Nottingham University Sports Centre
Final Result: 82-48 (Nottingham)
The Blues' Top Scorers: Léonie de Jonge (10), Claire Ratican (7), Mie Monti (7), Paloma Navarro (6), Becky Illingworth (6)
Overall Free-Throw Accuracy: 88%