SB1 at Womens' Indoor Regionals
SATURDAY
SB vs Brunel (8-2)
We started the tournament with a pool match against Brunel. Cambridge came out with no idea of what to expect, as this was the first time Brunel had entered a womens team into the tournament. Brunel had a few strong players, and our slow and sloppy offence saw us leak a few early points.Nonetheless, SB managed to pull ahead and secure an early victory putting us in a good position forthe rest of the day.
SB vs Oxford 2 (10-0)
Oxford 2 is a new, inexperienced team. We used this match as a chance to perfect our offensive flow. In general, this was a well-spirited game with some good communication from both sides. It was an easy win for Cambridge, although we did not play our best as we were not particularly pushed by ouropponents.
SB vs Reading (6-4)
This was a close match between two very evenly matched teams. We worked well against their zone defence, demonstrated by their switch to man-defence mid-game. Our defence started to improve in this game, but we were still getting beaten open-side. After a time-out, we made sure to emphasise afocus on ‘the simple stuff’ (i.e. not being broken as a force, or beaten to the open side), and this worked well to secure our victory.
SB vs Imperial (4-7)
Cambridge came into the game fully expecting a tough fight against Imperial’s slick and experienced offence. As a result, Cambridge came out strong and got a few points on the scoreboard early- scaring Imperial, who called a timeout 7 minutes into the game. However, SB did not hold the advantage forlong. Imperials’ offence was too fast and accurate for our defence (especially their handler to ISO movement). After the timeout, they pulled away their points to lead to an Imperial victory, putting us in 6th for the second day.
SUNDAY
SB vs Kent (3-6) The ‘game where it all went wrong’ (T. Smith et. al 2016)
This was a disappointing game for Cambridge, as we could not seem to beat their defensive zone. This is probably due to a lack of practice on working against zone defence. We used the handler swings a lot, wasting a considerable amount of the match on these ‘easy’ passes, without much success in breaking through up the pitch. This was a game we should have won- especially after our performance against Imperial the day before. This loss was definitely a learning curve for the team, and something we will take into the outdoor season.
SB vs KCL2 (8-1)
We used this game as a chance to regroup after the loss against Kent, and another chance to perfect ‘the basics’. Their play was familiar to us as it was similar to that of KCL1- a repetitive handler weave movement on offence, which we made sure to shut down. On offence, Humaira worked hard for some brilliant catches in the end-zone (this goes for pretty much every game of the tournament actually...). Our team definitely had an advantage with the level of experience, but it was nonetheless by no means a ‘walkover’, with some great offence from both sides.
SB vs Herts (6-4)
Cambridge went into this game expecting to be faced with a challenging defence from Herts. The teams were pretty evenly matched, with point trading characterising much of the game. Cambridge managed to pull away with some slick end-zone play. Lizzie managed a fantastic layout D in the end- zone during this game. The team had some brilliant defensive play, slowing down the Herts offence in the 3rd of the pitch closest to their end-zone. This was a really enjoyable, fast-moving game against a well-spirited team.
SB vs Surrey (7-1)
SB was determined to finish high after the disappointing loss against Kent this morning, and went out strong in the plate final. Surrey had a few key players, and we made sure to make accurate match ups on defence, to shut down their swift handler player. Cambridge’s offence looked better than ever, after a weekend of playing 3-2. It was unfortunate to see Surrey deliberately leaving out their less experienced players from the game, which made it pretty much a 3 on 3 for Cambridge defence. SB ended the tournament on a high, walking away with a (non-existent) plate. It would have been nice if there was actually a Plate for us to take home, but what can ya do.
The MVP for the weekend was Charlie, with Becca being voted the Most Spirited Player of the tournament.
From Left to right, top to bottom: Karla Cervantes, Laura Rogers, Lizzie Pearmain, Jo Starkie, Tessa Bertozzi, Humaira Bhadelia, Tasha Smith, Katie Tidd, Becca Harwin.
