A 20-point game from Mady Burdett led Nottingham Trent to a 71-66 win over the Reading Rockets on November 28 at the Lee Westwood Sports Centre.
Both teams took the knee before this 2pm tip off in the WBBL top division between Reading Rockets and home side NTU.
The tip off went the way of NTU and Evi Dekker drew contact and sent one free throw down to open the scoring.
Once again, the visiting team began the game in sharper fashion than NTU with the Rockets energy shining through early as they began a high intensity of ball movement and defensive shift.
Sitota Gines Espinosa of the Rockets caused Trent issues from the jump with her intensity of both ends of the floor, leading to a decent early lead for Reading.
Reading then employed their pick and roll very effectively with the link between Saoia San Fransisco and Gaila Comesaña leading to six straight points.
A great bit of playmaking from Brahe Ashton led to captain Vicky Gray getting open beneath the basket and from beyond the arc in consecutive possessions.
By the half-way stage Reading had 9 points from turnovers compared with NTU’s three, a problem that needed addressing.
Reading were giving Trent real problems across the court with their urgency and energy but in doing so were wildly inefficient, shooting well under 37 percent from the floor, with Trent making the best of their limited looks with a vastly better 46 percent.
Towards the end of the first half Trent guard Mady Burdett caught fire and this did not look like being doused in the third quarter.
Dutch sniper Evi Dekker then also settled into a playmaking role very effectively before going on a run and changing the pace of the game with her impressive arsenal of offensive moves.
By the end of the third quarter Trent began to achieve a certain level of separation on the scoreboard with a turnaround jumper from Naomi Campbell giving them a five-point lead before the buzzer.
The beginning of the fourth quarter saw Burdett become un-guardable, shooting from beyond the arc, weaving through traffic and finishing at the basket and pulling up from midrange.
The move of the game came through point guard Brahe Ashton when – following a clever baseline run – she shifted her weight and converted a reverse layup, drawing Trent even further away.
With Burdett still on fire, Campbell as good as took the game away from Reading with 5-7 from the floor and one from distance.
With just over a minute to go, Gray iced the game with a pair of layups, with some sloppiness leading to some easy Reading points in the dying moments making the final score look closer than it was as a contest in the last period.
After the game, Trent star performer Mady Burdett emphasized the importance of their offensive efficiency particularly in the face of such intense closing from the Rockets. She said it was important to not, “let the other team control your pace so for us to be able to control it for ourselves was really important in this win”.
NTU face Team Solent Kestrels on the 29th and look to win three straight games and make this an even more impressive start to the season.
By Michael Vince