STOL-Grasshoppers take control and win convincingly their cup match against First Division Lekdetec.nl

The match begins with a minute of silence in honor of our youth member, Robbin Schaddé van Dooren, who recently passed away in a tragic accident. DS1 wish the family, friends, and teammates much strength in this difficult time!

By halftime, STOL-Grasshoppers are in the lead by 51-36. A 9-0 run in the 3^rd quarter widens their lead to 24 points. This lead is slowly, but surely, increased to a 112-65 win from Lekdectc.nl in the cup competition.

Three of the STOL-Grasshoppers ladies ended in double numbers, including 2 with a double-double. Rianne Philippo led the scoring with 39 points (11 from 16 3-pointers), Heather Stec followed with 28 points and 19 rebounds, and Julia Dijkman also performed well with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

STOL-Grasshoppers began the match with a fast lead. After 2 minutes, via Karin Kuyt, Rianne Philippo, and Heather Stec the score is 11-2. Then the momentum is lost and STOL-Grasshoppers forget to score for 3 minutes. Lekdetec.nl comes closer by via 3 scores in a row from Jinga Gosschalk (11-9). Via Heather and 3 3-pointers from Rianne Philippo, Grasshoppers are back in the game and take the score to 22-13 with 2 minutes on the clock. Lekdetec.nl improves a bit in the last 2 minutes and the score at halftime is 26-22 for the Katwijk’s team.

Yvonne van Daalen opens the second quarter with a score, and then it’s a 12-0 run for Grasshoppers. Via Anouk Breel, 2 x Heather Stec, a 3-pointer by Rianne Philippo, and a score plus bonus by Julia Dijkman the score goes to 38-24 in the 5^th minute of the second quarter. Scores are exchanged in the last 5 minutes of the first half, and Grasshoppers are in the lead at halftime by 51-36.

“At that time, some things were going well, and some weren’t” says coach Bo Melis after the game. “During the rest, we sharpened up 2 things in the defence, and 1 in the offence. When we started again, things went much better.”

STOL-Grasshoppers punished the tactical plays of Lekdetec.nl (a small and fast team) directly after leaving the dressing room. Via a 9-0 run, it’s 60-36 on the scoreboard after 4 minutes. Grasshoppers are playing well inside and out, and the opponent is not able to stop them. Ingrid van de Plas, with 4 assists in this period, gives the team the right impulse. With Charley Kranstauber, Ingrid van de Plas, and Anouk Breel leading in the defence, the instructions at halftime are carried out well. This meant that STOL-Grasshoppers had only 10 points scored against them in this quarter. The offence is going calmly further, although the 22 points in this quarter were the least in the match.

The fourth quarter is the best in the match for the Katwijk’s team. The ladies from STOL-Grasshoppers play very disciplined during the entire quarter. Via a very high tempo, the team scores 39 points and the match is played out well. Missy Mitidiero opens the scoring with a 3-pointer, Eline Kraayenoord completes two offensive plays well, and Julia Dijkman scores 13 points in this quarter. The team plays a good and controlled offence and bring their scorers into position. Missy Mitidiero shoots the 100^th point on the board in the 8^th minute. Via another 2 3-pointers by Rianne Philippo bring the match to an end at 112-65.

Bo Melis was a happy and satisfied coach when the match ended: “In the 2^nd half, the team followed the instructions we agreed to during the halftime rest. The pace was very high, but the plays were still under control. This was one of our best performances until now. Despite the outstanding performance by Rianne and Heather, this was a real team effort. Pretty much all of the shots were taken after well-played offensive strategies.

Period scores: 26-22, 25-14, (halftime 51-36), 22-10, 39-19

Individual stats: Rianne 39 points (11 of 16 3-pointers=69%); Heather 28 points (11 of 16 2-pointers=69%) and 19 rebounds; Julia 18 points (6 of 7 2-pointers= 85%) 10 rebounds and 5 assists;

Team stats: 25 of 49 2-pointers=51%, 14 of 29 3-pointers=48%, 20 of 26 free throws=77%; 55 rebounds (19 offensive and 36 defensive).