Heading into the final quarter of the 2021 Accra Basketball League (ABL) Women’s Division First round Playoff series, Ghana Air Force and Reformers of Prisons were tied on 30 points but Reformers had a better performance in the clutch quarter to ink a 44-36 win. (Click highlighted text to read match report)
A combination of poor shooting at the free throw line, poor execution of layups on fast breaks and an inability to contain the bigger Reformers team saw Air Force fall off and drop the series opening win.
Reformers front court combo of Ezequeen Dadzie and Christabel Edem proved too much for Air Force to handle in the paint and forced the smaller team to foul consistently to avoid giving up points.
In the third quarter, this tactic worked as Dadzie and Edem missed a handful of free throws that could have seen Reformers drift ahead to grab the game’s lead heading to the fourth quarter.
Still in the hunt for a place in the league finals, Air Force needs a new game plan to neutralize this threat in Game 2. Double teaming Prisons bigger targets to force them to give the ball up outside the paint and dare Reformers three point shot execution is an option.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
