Sevenoaks Suns picked up their second victory of the season with an 82-67 win at home to the Newcastle Eagles.
Following their dominant display at the Oaklands Wolves last week, they were given a tougher test by the Eagles, but managed to see through a comfortable victory in the end.
Janice Monakana led her team with 29 points, whilst her teammates Araion Bradshaw, Julia Koppl and Judit Fritz joined her in double digits with 14, 13 and 11 respectively.
The first quarter was quite an even affair, with both sides exchanging buckets before the Suns managed to create some separation in the final two minutes. A timely three from Renee Busch helped them take a six-point lead heading into the second period.
Offense was clearly on top, and this continued until half-time. The Eagles often couldn’t live with the high intensity full court press of the Suns and as a result, turned the ball over five times in the quarter, and 12 overall in the half. By half-time the Suns had amassed 15 fast break points.
Despite their best efforts, the Eagles couldn’t cut into the lead and had a 13-point deficit to overcome in the second half.
Suns’ defence took over in the third, holding their visitors scoreless for the first five minutes as they misfired from the field, going 0/8 and 0/2 on free throws. However, the Suns had some shooting woes of their own as they failed to take advantage of their opponents struggles to open up an even larger lead. By the time the Eagles scored their first bucket on the five-minute mark, the gap had only increased by two points.
But such was their lead from the first half, the Suns were still in a very commanding position and took the game away in the last few possessions of the quarter. With a 21-point lead, they cruised to victory in the final ten minutes, despite being outscored by six. Monakana’s ten-point quarter saw her side through to victory.
It is now two wins from three to open up the season for the Suns, and they will look to extend their winning streak when they visit the Caledonia Gladiators in two weeks’ time. The Gladiators themselves will be hoping to continue their good start to the season, as they are yet to be beaten following two victories.
Author: Angelia Ronayne
