The UEL women are looking to earn their first win of the season this coming Wednesday as they make the trip to Oxford University Women’s 1st team.
After two defeats each, this is a must win game for both teams.
Fine Margins
UEL fell agonisingly short of getting their first win last week with a 10-point loss away at Hertfordshire. It was a valiant effort from UEL as they travelled to the home of the league favourites and were unlucky not to leave with a win.
However, there are plenty of positives to take into Wednesday’s game against Oxford, something which UEL Guard Olivia Bauer echoes:
“The game against Hertfordshire we performed better than at our first game against Cardiff, we played more as a team. I believe our team has still got a lot more potential, especially as our tallest player is still injured, but she should be back on court soon.”
Tall Order
Height has been an issue for UEL so far this season. As Bauer pointed out, they have been missing their starting centre and power forward during the opening weeks. This height disadvantage really cost them in their opening game of the season as they were severely out- rebounded by Cardiff.
As talented as the UEL women are, there is not much that can be done individually when the opponent has a significant height mismatch.
Careful Optimism
With players returning and the team starting to form a chemistry, UEL look favourites to pick up their first win of the season over Oxford.
Sitting bottom of the league, Oxford look like the perfect matchup for UEL to bounce back against. This being said away trips are never easy, but Bauer is confident in her team’s abilities to get the win:
“We know we can play, we just have to perform well as a team and communicate a lot. Oxford also lost by 80 points against Hertfordshire, but we certainly cannot underestimate them.”
Game Plan
Bauer has put emphasis on speed in defence, boxing out and rebounding as key factors in securing the win over Oxford.
The coach will have implemented new tactics in training and Bauer believes we will see a different UEL from this point on saying:
“As a team we need to apply what we have been practicing at training and I know we can achieve great things.”
