Here’s a look at the difference in scoring in each game, looking at the first 10 min of each Q and then the last 5 min (when the 2 pt shot was available to use)…
Firebirds v Lightning:
Firebirds actually outscored Lightning 32-31 in the 40 min of the game when there was no 2 pt shot was in play, but for the 20 min when it was in play, Lightning outscored Firebirds 35-16! So I think we can see a definite trend from that match.
Thunderbirds v Fever:
Some criticised Thunderbirds’ 2 pt tactics in the first Q but they improved over the match. Their problem was actually the opening 10 min of each Q. During that time Fever outscored them 46-35. During the last 5 min of each Q T’birds just edged Fever 28-27.
Giants v Swifts:
Watching this game, you got the impression Giants were killing it in the last 5 min of each Q thanks to Jo Harten. But over the whole match, scoring in the last 5 min of each Q was dead level 28-28. It was in the first 10 min of each Q that Swifts edged it 35-33. This game just shows that 2 pt goals aren’t everything. The perfect play is to just keep scoring 2 pointers during those last 5 min, but that’s hard to do. In this game, during the last 5 min of each Q, Swifts scored 12 regular goals. Giants scored 2. There’s your problem!
Vixens v Magpies:
This was interesting. The match got right away from Magpies in an awful last 5 min, but up till then, they had actually outscored Vixens in the last 5 min of the first 3 Qs. In total, Vixens won 37-32 in the first 10 min of each Q and 26-20 in the last 5.
