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The Caledonia Gladiators headed down to Essex as they draw near the end of their Super League Basketball Championship season and prepare for the upcoming playoffs. The Gladiators would show their character in this tough match-up against the Essex Rebels, coming back from a 13-point deficit at the half to enter the final quarter of the game down by just one-point. A tough final quarter for both teams would see the Rebels stop the impressive comeback of the Gladiators and take the win in front of their home crowd, 93 – 91.
The Gladiators stormed into the first quarter of action taking a quick lead, but the Rebels were determined to fight on their home court and would quickly get themselves back into the game. The Gladiators would take a strong 6-point lead within the first two minutes of the game but would find themselves behind nearing the end of the first quarter of action in Essex. In a quarter of runs for the two teams the last two minutes of action would see the Gladiators and Rebels trade baskets and leads. The Gladiators would outlast the Rebels and enter the second quarter of the game, 24 – 26 to the Gladiators.
The Rebels would start of scoring in the second quarter and begin the quarter strong, taking a 10-point lead in the first 5 minutes of the second quarter of the game on their home court. The Gladiators would stop the Rebels impressive start to the second quarter but would be unable to get themselves back into the game, with Essex taking a double-digit lead into half-time. Strong shooting and tough lay-ups helped the Rebels take a commanding lead into the half-time break, increasing their lead throughout the 10 minutes quarter to 13- points.
The score at half time was 57 – 44 to the Essex Rebels.
The Gladiators brought the game back to single digits quickly to start the second half, scoring 6 unanswered points in the first 3 minutes of the second half to cut the Rebels lead to 7-points. However, the Rebels would quickly stop the Gladiators run with a run of their own, retaking the double-digit lead with 12-points within a minute and a half, forcing a Gladiators timeout. The Gladiators would chip away at the Rebels lead, behind former Rebel, Kat Tudor’s four points to cut the lead to four with the assistance of Kirsty Brown, 2-points, and Delaynie Byrne, 2-points. With just 1 quarter left of the game, the Gladiators would find themselves just down by 1-point after a strong third quarter from all the Gladiators. The score entering the final 10 minutes of the game in Essex was 69 – 68 to the Essex Rebels.
The Gladiators would kick off scoring in the fourth quarter to take their first lead since the first quarter of the game, but Essex would quickly answer back with back-to-back threes to take the quick five-point lead in just over a minute of play. The two teams would trade baskets throughout the first couple minutes of the fourth quarter, with the Gladiators preventing the Rebels from increasing their lead and running away with the game. Neither team were giving an inch in the first five minutes of the final quarter, trading baskets and tying up the game at 81 – 81. Both teams kept up the defensive intensity with no basket being easy. Both teams would continue to trade baskets and leads entering the final minute and a half of the game with the Gladiators up by 1 with just under two minutes left. A huge three-pointer by Maria Blazejewski of the Essex Rebels with 45 seconds left would see the Rebels take a 2-point lead. Despite strong defence the Gladiators would be unable to complete the impressive comeback they started in the third quarter of the game and would fall to the Essex Rebels by 2-points, 93-91.
The final score of the game at the Essex Sports Arena was 93 – 91 to the Essex Rebels.
The Caledonia Gladiators are back for their final home game of the Super League Basketball Championship next weekend as they face Durham Palatinate in our Easter Sunday Doubleheader.
Top Performers:
Téa Adams: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists
Kat Tudor: 17 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals
Kirsty Brown: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
