Two more wins take Storm to 18-0

20/02/2023

Saturday 18th February, NBL Division One:
Thames Valley Cavaliers 80-84 Hemel Storm

Sunday 19th February, NBL Division One:
Hemel Storm 105-72 Essex Rebels

Last weekend saw Vanarama-sponsored Hemel Storm take the short journey to Thames Valley Cavaliers on Saturday and host Essex Rebels on Sunday. It was an action-packed two days as Storm were pushed to their limits but managed to secure two vital wins to keep their unbeaten streak.

Saturday’s game against Thames Valley Cavaliers started heavily in Storm’s favour, as they dominated the early stages of the game. They managed to stretch the lead to 20 points going into half time before a 25-9 3rd quarter in favour of the Cavaliers saw momentum swing the opposite way and with a 3 pointer from Manning, the miraculous comeback looked to be complete. However, Storm were able to force crucial turnovers to secure a hard-fought victory, much to the delight of the travelling Storm faithful. Storm moved to 17-0 with a 80-84 victory.

Storm did not want a repeat of what happened against the Cavaliers in Sunday’s match against Essex Rebels. Storm started outstandingly dominating the first quarter 37-16 and continued to do so throughout the whole of the game. Every player managed to contribute to the scoring with 6 of those players registering double figures. Fantastic passing and capitalising off turnovers proved to be decisive factors as to why storm won the game by the margin that they did, which showed as Storm were victorious, winning 105-72.

It was a weekend full of action, with Storm showing the determination especially in the Thames Valley game to secure the late victory. It was a more comfortable end to the weekend as Storm cruised to victory against the Rebels but the unselfishness of the players gave opportunities for multiple open shots which were successfully converted.

Storm move on to a top of the table clash against Derby Trailblazers at Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre, 7pm tip on Saturday 25th February. Tickets for this game are available at www.stormbasketball.net.

Top Scorers vs Cavaliers: Aaryn Rai: 31 points, Hakeem Sylla: 22 points, Seth Swalve: 11 points
Top Scorers vs Rebels: Aaryn Rai: 19 points, Hakeem Sylla: 18 points, Sam Newman: 17 points

Report by Ollie Heathcote
Photo by Joanne Charles

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