Tough Loss For The Stingers

The first week of Stingers basketball has come to a close. With the incredible overtime win against the Niagara River Lions, the Stingers felt confident going into game two. However, the Hamilton Honey Badgers displayed an impressive performance in their home court against the Edmonton Stingers. Besides the final score being 106-83, a few factors need to be conducted by both teams. Lets first take a look at the full game

Game Analysis

For the first game of the season for the Badgers, it is safe to say that they are a force to be reckoned with. The Badgers came to play as they managed to consistently play hard defence against the Stingers. At the beginning of the game, the Badgers were producing on both sides of the court with an 11-0 start. Throughout the first quarter, the Badgers were pushing hard defensively in order to convert easily on the offensive end. Turn-overs and defensive rebounds are what elevated the Badgers early in the game. Hamilton was more focused on converting turn-overs into, two-point plays rather than threes. The impressive ball movement that the Badgers committed on the offensive end of the court seemed as if this roster has been playing with each other for years. The Badgers demolished the Stingers at the end of the first quarter with a score of 33-20.

Hamilton displayed an impressive show on their home court however, eventually, it came to a close towards the second quarter. Hamilton and Edmonton were going back and forth with their scoring rate. From three-pointers to flashy lay-ups and dunks, both teams were at a high rate on the offensive side. However, the Stingers managed to make an impressive comeback by playing hard defence and converting and one foul opportunity. The volume scoring that the Stingers committed caused Hamilton to call multiple time outs to reconfigure their offensive plays. As a result, the Stingers managed to tie the game up due to the Badgers losing their composure. This was an unacceptable feat from the Badgers which caused them to hit a clutch three-pointer following an and 1 play opportunity which made the score 53-49 at the end of the first half.

With the second half starting, the Stingers went South. The first few minutes of the quarter were pretty even as both teams nailed shots at an equal rate. Towards the end, however, the Badgers went on a 9-0 offensive run which stunned the Stingers. These 9 points the Badgers committed were very crucial for there success as they used it as momentum. Hamilton continued this flow in the fourth quarter as they only allowed the Stingers to score 14 points compared to Hamilton’s 21 points. This was heavily due to the Stingers lack of communication as well as not converting shots into points in the second half. With the final score being 106-83, the Badgers had something to prove to the CEBLeague.

Hamilton Honey Badgers Performance

The Stingers managed to win their first home game of the season and were on pace to defeat the Honey Badgers, however, Hamilton did not allow it. With the final score of 106-83, a few things can be looked at as to why the Badgers won the game.

The Stingers from the beginning managed to turn the ball over more than eight times. In fact, a good percentage of their points came from turnovers. Hamilton managed to hit high percentage shots from anywhere on the court. With the great ball movement as well as communication, the Badgers started the game adequately. However, some flaws were evident from the Badgers performance.

At times, the Badgers looked lost at the defensive end. In the second half especially, the Stingers managed to create a come back which allowed the Stingers to at one point tie the game. Hamilton had the chance to prevent the Stingers to score if they played proper defence.

The other main flaw that was committed for the Badgers was, not shooting smart shots. Although the Badgers managed to shoot at a high percentage, it doesn't give them the right to shoot clumsy shots.

Edmonton Stingers Performance

Despite the defeat, the season just began which means that there is still room to grow. Unlike game one, the Stingers were at times lost due to the lack of communication on the court. With the number of turnovers that was apparent in the first quarter, the Stingers slowly lost their rhythm. The only time Edmonton regained momentum was in the second quarter. Having communication on the court is what allowed the Stingers to regain momentum in the second quarter. However, the Stingers did not continue their second-quarter success for the remainder of the game. If the Stingers manage to convert their passes into points instead of turnovers, the outcome of this game would have been different.

Overall, the Stingers played an inconsistent game. There would be times where Edmonton would commit an 8-0 offensive run and other times where they could not score the ball. Consistency and communication were the main issues for this game as the Badgers only managed to win from converting points from Edmonton's flaws. With every turnover that the Stingers committed, it allowed the Badgers to gain momentum which resulted in the eruption of the fans

The Edmonton Stingers should not feel discouraged with this defeat and instead should be elevated. The flaws in this game for the Stingers being, communication and consistency, are two easy things to fix. With this only being the second game of the season, this determines that the Stingers are only going to get better. This game was needed for the Stingers as they now have a game they can reflect on in order to avoid these flaws.