STOL-Grasshoppers DS1 win their last competition match of the season in Groningen

STOL-Grasshoppers won their last match of the regular competition in Groningen from Celeritas by 85-74. Two matches to be played on Sunday will determine the final standings in the league (Uball-Celeritas and HLBA-Wereldtickets.nl).

Next week, the play-offs begin for the Katwijk’s team with an away game. When, what time, and against who will be known late Sunday evening. STOL-Grasshoppers have shown definite improvement since last season and are demonstrating better results. Maybe they’re not too stable yet, but that’s their next target. Hopefully during the pay-offs? That would be a fantastic reward for the team.

Missy Mitidiero was sharp in Groningen with 26 points (6 of 9 3-pointers). Heather Stec is still a bit sick, but nevertheless was good for 19 points and 13 rebounds (scoring 13 of 16 free throws). Karin Kuijt and Anouk Breel both scored 12 points, to which Karin added 6 assists and Anouk 7 rebounds.

The match itself was not one of the best that STOL-Grasshoppers played this season. It was also not a match with the best shot percentage and most luck. As many as 24 lay-ups and open shots under the board were missed by the Katwijk’s formation. That demonstrated that the offensive plays were in order, but the shots were not falling, and that made the match look sloppy.

After Celeritas opened the scoring, STOL answered with a 2-10 stand on the scoreboard. The game continues to a 7-15 stand in the 7^th minute of the first quarter. Then Celeritas comes back to 15-17 at the end of the first quarter, when a series of lay-ups are missed by STOL. And that gives an image of the entire match. STOL takes a small lead (max. 14 points), and Celeritas fights their way back (to max. 1 point). The Katwijk’s formation again gives gas to take a similar lead, and Groningen comes to within a couple of points again. The second quarter is a copy of the first. The first half ends with 44-36 on the score board. Missy shoots 4 of her 6 bombs through the net in this quarter, which was very positive for the ladies from Katwijk.

“Not our best match, especially by not rewarding ourselves with well-played attacks.” explained coach Bo Melis after the match. “We played good offensive plays, but that only counts when you throw the ball in, and we neglected to do that during the whole game.”

In the third quarter, Shawna Nickols demonstrated that she can do what Missy can. She scores 13 points this quarter (including 3 3-pointers), and brings Groningen back in the match. STOL manages to keep the lead, and hope of a win in Groningen. Celeritas wins this period by 24-19, and the teams start the last quarter at 60-63 for STOL.

Heather Stec plays an important role in the 4th quarter. Celeritas can only stop her via fouls. This means that from the beginning until the end of the quarter she’s standing at the free throw line. Via 8 of 12 free throws and one field score, she makes 10 of the 22 points. STOL-Grasshoppers come to 85 points (which is pretty good considering they missed 24 lay-ups), and Celeritas manages 74 points.

“And now the play-offs.” says Bo Melis after the game. “We had two goals, to win and to play a good match. We reached goal 1, but goal 2 only partially. Next week we have to make the lay-ups and score the points. We have to show every opponent that we can score more than them, and that will be a challenge for any opponent.”

Period stands: 15-17; 21-27; 24-19; 14-22;
Scores & rebounds: Missy 24pts; Heather 19pts and 13 rebounds; Karin 12pts and 6 ass; Anouk 12 pts and 7 rebs; Julia 5 pts and 7 rebs; Rianne 5 pts; Eline 4pts and 7 rebs (6 offensive); Ingrid 2pts and Charley no score, but 6 steals, 4 rebs and 3 ass.