Saturday 28th January, NBL Division One: Loughborough Riders 99 - 108 Hemel Storm
Sunday 29th January, NBL Division One: Hemel Storm 122 - 75 Westminster Warriors
Last weekend saw Vanarama-sponsored Hemel Storm travel away to Loughborough Riders on Saturday, and return to Hemel Hempstead at home to Westminster Warriors on Sunday.
Saturday’s game against Loughborough was an incredibly tense game with Loughborough in the lead for the majority of the game, due to many missed shots by Storm. It looked as if the Riders were going to win until Sam Newman assisted Aaryn Rai with an alley-oop pass to tie the game with 3.8 seconds remaining. Storm managed to take control of overtime, demonstrating some great plays and limiting the points the Riders scored, most of theirs coming from Bailey who had a fantastic performance. Storm’s intensity paid off with them keeping their unbeaten streak winning 99-108.
After a below-par performance from Storm’s standards, they had to reply with a convincing win in Sunday’s game against the Westminster Warriors. From the start of the game, it was one way traffic with Storm dominating and stretching their lead.
After another mediocre shooting performance in the first quarter, Storm used their passing to create open shots underneath the basket. Storm also thrived off turnovers with quick transitions leading to multiple slam dunks, which extended the lead to a game high of 55. Storm came away with a comfortable victory, winning 122-75.
Storm have a double header home weekend coming up, they first face the Reading Rockets at Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre, 7pm tip on Saturday 4th February, this is a massive game for Storm to retain their unbeaten record. This follows up with London Lions II on Sunday 5th February with a late night showdown at 8.15pm. Tickets for both games are available to purchase at www.stormbasketball.net.
Top Scorers vs Warriors: Aaryn Rai: 23 points, Taylor Johnson: 22 points, Hakeem Sylla: 12 points
Report by Ollie Heathcote
Photo by Joanne Charles
