Six straight wins have taken Taunton Women to 2nd place in the Midlands/South conference of the National Division 2 and sets up a play-off decider with UWIC away this week.
Following on from a great midweek 85 – 20 win against Plymouth, when Taunton hit their biggest ever points differential win in the National League, the game against Guernsey was eagerly awaited. Taunton dominated the opening period in terms of shots at basket but a poor conversion rate allowed to visitors to stay close at 7 – 6 at the first break. The second quarter was a very different affair though with the Tigers adding some offensive finesse to their defensive intensity. Assistant Coach Jo Woods (7 Points) played in the absence of Emma Gough and was able to use her wealth of experience to settle Taunton down whilst Emily Farthing once again brought energy off the bench to add 14 points to Taunton's total.
Guernsey had lost by only 2 points in the reverse fixture earlier in the season and they were in no mood to give up. Spurred on by their noisy away support, they threw everything at the Tigers in the 2nd half. Taunton stood firm though behind the relentless defensive efforts of Pow, Hartston, Dyke (9 points) and Watkins and came back with 3 point scores from Shaikh (8 Points) and Ridgway (8 points).
Head Coach Ronnie Heath was able to give much needed rest to top scoring guard Hanna Byrne ahead of the UWIC challenge as Taunton closed the game out 56 – 42 to record their biggest ever win against Guernsey.
Team Manger Jim Hartston summed the game up well,
“A bit more composure of offence and I think we could have won by 50, but once again a superb effort from the whole team.”