The second division basketball players from ASC Mainz are a long time behind against TSV Wasserburg. However, they didn’t give up their second lead and beat the second-placed team 89:84.
Mainz. The last attempt at throwing failed, but Alina Dötsch fought for the rebounding ball and, sitting on the hall floor, never gave it up. A few more seconds ticked down and then, after an outstanding performance, the ASC Mainz basketball team won 89:84 (63:67, 40:42, 20:24) at home against TSV Wasserburg.
A week after the surprising 73:55 at HTG Bad Homburg, the Theresianum team achieved an almost sensational success in the Second Bundesliga. “We beat the top two in the league,” said Aron Duracak; The Mainz women had lost heavily against both competitors at the start of the season. “It gives the girls a boost.”
For him, who had once again taken over coaching instead of Eric Marschke, who was required of the ASC men – together with sports director Dominique Liggins – the result was an additional satisfaction. As a reminder: After the first two games of the current round, he gave up the coaching position due to work overload and ended the job with a defeat. “Coming back with a win is great,” said Duracak. The applause, however, does not belong to him, but to the players. “In the end it was a team success.”
Soltau stands out
Even though Duracak rightly emphasized the importance of team unity, he couldn’t help but highlight a single player. “Verena Soltau is finding her way into the team better and better,” he said about the tall, agile winger. On top of that, she has now proven to be accurate. While she had already shone with 19 points in Bad Homburg, she now even added 25 points. Plus 16 rebounds and four blocks. “We were missing someone like that in the fall.”
The victory against the second-placed team in the table had not been in sight for a long time. The hosts were nine points behind in the first quarter and were down by ten several times in the second. There was no deficit that could not be made up, but the performances shown up to that point spoke against such a development. The Wasserburg women had the higher hit rate and made fewer mistakes.
Worked on again and again
The Mainz team, on the other hand, missed a lot of chances, especially under the basket, and there were also ball losses, for example due to passing errors, which the TSV were happy to take advantage of. However, they had to be credited with the fact that they reduced the deficit towards the end of each quarter. In the first round they turned 15:22 into 20:24, and in the second round they even came within two points after 30:40. They benefited from a weak phase on the part of the guests, who unnecessarily made two step errors in quick succession. “That was a bonus for us,” Duracak said.
The close break opened up all possibilities for the ASC. Soltau equalized and could have taken their team’s first lead with an additional free throw, but after this attempt failed, Dötsch made up for it in the next attempt. Slowly the picture changed. The hosts were increasingly aggressive and confident in defense, so that the favored guests had to fight harder for every goal. “We managed to stop the water burgers from going to the basket,” said Duracak. “The rotation worked better, the help and the help for the help were there. That increased as the game progressed.”
Accents from several players
The ASC women also improved in attack. Driven by the strong dribbling Alina Kraus, they repeatedly created free throwing positions and strengthened their self-confidence by taking advantage of the opportunities. “We became more and more patient,” explained the coach. “At the beginning our passing game was rushed.” It was also positive that all the players showed movement towards the basket. “We didn’t necessarily have to go beyond the Americans; others also set accents.”
Of course, the first lead didn’t mean the turning point; it only lasted until 52:51. The guests then took control of the game again and pulled away again to 56:63. But the Mainz women were also able to rely on their final spurt in this third quarter. Hannah Krull shortened the score to 63:67 with a three-pointer.
Krull also managed to equalize to 74:74, Tatum Koenig gave her team the lead for the second time with a three-pointer to 79:78 – and this time she held. When Kraus sank another three-pointer to make it 89:82 half a minute before the end, it was more than just a preliminary decision. And with Dötsch winning the ball while sitting, the second surprise within a week was perfect.
This article is published with the kind support of SPORT FROM MAINZ.
2024-02-06 23:10:54
#patient #surprise #Womens #Basketball #Bundesliga
