In the first game of the New Year, Hinckley A went to Nuneaton Old Eds to try and seal an away win to close the gap on top of the league, Harbury. Hinckley started with all guns blazing, winning the first quarter 16-4. Nuneaton Old Ed’s warmed up in the second quarter increasing their goal tally. However, the Hinckley A attack linked up really well and the defence kept applying the pressure to stretch the lead even further. Despite the Christmas tiredness that seemed to kick in for Hinckley, they ploughed on and Old Ed’s got within half. The final score being 47-24. POM GS Carole Payne.
Hinckley B made a very quick start scoring first but never really pulled away enough to stretch the early lead. Alvis were then able to turn over 3 of Hinckley’s centres to lead by 4 at the end of the first quarter. Despite an excellent level of play from Hinckley in the second quarter, Alvis were able to maximise on the few mistakes made by Hinckley pulling away to a 6 goal lead by half time. The third quarter saw Hinckley disrupt Alvis’s play with some excellent turn overs in defence from Jo Oakes, Nicola Coulson and Bec Kenney allowing Hinckley to reverse the scoring momentum. The final quarter was very tight as Hinckley continued to fight for every ball, keeping the edge ahead winning the quarter 11-10. However, despite this late pressure, Hinckley just ran out of time with the final score finishing 44-41 in Alvis’s favour. Player of the match was WD Rebecca Kenney.
Hinckley C team played Henley D in their first game back in the New Year. The game started off as an even match, with the score narrowing to 19-17 in the second quarter after some amazing shots by Emily Harrison and super sub Lynda Sanders. Henley began to gain increased possession in the second half, and despite Hinckley’s defence never giving up and fighting for every re-bound, Henley increased their lead to result in a final score of 46-29 to Henley.
Hinckley D started their game against a reputable Highway C team with determination to do their best. The game was close for the whole first half with Highway gaining only a 4 goal lead. Changes to the Highway team at half time saw them increase the gap slightly. Hinckley’s defence was tight, making it difficult for Highway to pass the ball into their shooting circle without an interception being made. Passing up and down the court was accurate and timely, making it easy for the ball to flow into the attacking end .In the 3rd quarter Highway turned over a couple of Hinckley’s centre passes. Final score 36 – 47 went to highway with POM going jointly to GD Leanne Evans and GS Lynda Sanders.
Following what seemed a long break, Hinckley E played Highway D away. Communication between the team was strong and despite going behind by 3 in the first quarter, Hinckley had some clean passing through centre court and felt that they got off to a good start. There was great determination in defence with many good interceptions turning around the ball and getting it to the attacking half, the score 17-15 at half time. The third quarter continued to be very close going goal for goal, with tight pressure from Goalkeeper Ella Wilkinson, reading the ball well and tipping many balls away from the mature Highway shooter. Tight defending from Highway made it difficult for Hinckley’s shooters to get free. Highway capitalised on this and had a succession of goals taking them ahead to win 34-26. Solid leadership from Captain Anita King at Centre saw her named player of the match.
A slightly changed F team, unfortunately plagued with illness and injury, returned to the home grounds at Hinckley to take on Offchurch C this weekend. After a strong start, the Fs quickly became overpowered by the much more experienced Offchurch team. However the defensive partnership of Jade Isaac and newcomer Anna Ball worked tirelessly to ensure the ball made it back down to the Attackers as much as possible. With some strong work in centre court and team morale at a high, the Fs continued fighting back. Offchurch kept held of their lead and the score finished at 16-41 with player of the match going to Anna Ball at GD in her F Team debut.