report
What is the key to changing the flow? Queen Bees takes on the next competition
Yamanashi Queen Beads 59-66 Tokyo Haneda (neutral held)
Score/missed broadcast
The games against Alanmare Akita and Niigata ended with 1 win and 1 loss. In the two games they lost, they conceded the lead and caught up with them, but were unable to get a grip on the flow and lost. This was disappointing even in terms of competing for position.
Then came today’s match against Tokyo Haneda. The Queenbees are forced to overcome a stagnant offense and play a game where they can’t grasp the flow at the crossroads of victory or defeat.
How do I get out of this spiral? It was a game that attracted a lot of attention, but Queenby’s were not in a situation that they could easily escape from, and it seemed as if they were caught in the vortex.
Queen Bees had a slow start to today’s game as well, and although they passed the ball around outside, they were unable to penetrate Tokyo Haneda’s defense, resulting in a tough start to the game at 2-10. With three minutes remaining, shots from Seika Miyoshi and Mina Kaminaga gave Tokyo Haneda a 7-12 lead, but Nako Motohashi’s three-pointer and end-one shot widened the lead for Tokyo Haneda. Just before the end of the first quarter, Honoka Tsuchida made a three, closing the gap to 10-18 heading into the second quarter.
The Queen Bees were closing in on Tokyo Haneda at 15-18 thanks to consecutive points from Mina Kaminaga, but with 7 minutes and 55 seconds remaining, Aika Watanabe’s three-pointer tied the score at 18-18, and a rhythm was found in both offense and defense, with 2 minutes remaining. There was a moment when the lead expanded to 26-20 at 48 seconds. However, their offense stagnated from here, and their points were sluggish due to mistakes in free throws and easy shots. Tokyo Haneda caught up with them and the first half ended with the score tied at 29-29.
In the third quarter, where it was expected that the key point would be how the game started, the offense was effective, with Anmolpreet Cole as the starting point, and a successful three-pointer from a pass to the corner. On defense, the entire team defended hard and kept Tokyo Haneda’s points in check, resulting in an evenly matched game. However, with 42 seconds remaining, Nako Motohashi made a two-throw, and the third quarter ended with a three-point difference at 45-48. At this point, Queenbees had 10 minutes left to play.
In the fourth quarter, difficult shooting continued from the beginning, and the point difference gradually widened. With 8 minutes and 8 seconds remaining, Queen Bees made a shooting mistake and allowed Tokyo Haneda to break out quickly, making the lead 47-54 and 7 points. At this point, head coach Sachiko Ishikawa called for a timeout. After that, the zone defense worked and stopped Tokyo Haneda’s scoring, and with two minutes remaining, Rinami Nakazawa scored to tie the score at 59-59. However, in the final stages of the match, which was a turning point, Nako Motohashi’s assist and score shined. As Tokyo Haneda expanded its lead, Queen Bees could not catch up and lost 59-66. This is their third consecutive loss this season against Tokyo Haneda.
The offense was stagnant and the game was unable to grasp the flow of the game. What was the difference between the losing team at Tokyo Haneda and the Queen Bees?
For Tokyo Haneda, Motohashi started scoring points in the first, third, and fourth quarters at key points in the game. A veteran with plenty of experience and the ability to make decisions makes use of those around him, and those around him also make use of Motohashi. Although his playing time was not long at only 15 minutes, he showed an efficient performance, scoring 15 points and providing 5 assists at key points.
On the other hand, Queen Bees did not have enough opportunities to finish the game against the opponent’s defense in the way they intended, and there were many instances where the opponent was able to take control even on rebounds when their shots missed. This often resulted in not only not being able to take advantage of second chances, but also allowing the opponent to attack quickly.
Regarding this point, Momoko Inoue said, “Like at Tokyo Haneda, there is no clear strategy to secure points in critical situations.We need to improve the quality of our cooperation.” Mina Kaminaga also said, “We need to improve the quality of our cooperation.” In order to do so, it’s important for everyone on the team to make good shot selections and make cooperative plays,” he said, talking about the need for the team to be particular about how to score points.
With the next game approaching in 12 hours, the question is how to overcome this challenge. We are already halfway through the league, and the fierce battle for position continues. Each game is important for the Queen Bees to stay on course towards their goal.
The other day, an official W League photographer who came to take pictures of the game said this after seeing the players’ expressions after the game. “I think this team is the brightest in the league.”
After the victorious match, the players’ faces were full of brightness and confidence as they smiled at the camera. Although his expression may become depressed when he loses a lot, Queen Bees is sure to have the strength to regain his natural cheerfulness and overcome difficult times.
I look forward to seeing them fight with their brightness and confidence.
Head coach/player talk
Sachiko Ishikawa Head Coach
It was a disappointing match, but there were some areas where I was unable to cope with my opponent, Nako Motohashi, who has a lot of experience. Although I can appreciate the fact that they limited their opponents to three three-pointers, their two-point shooting success rate was a low 31%, and they had nearly 50 rebounds, leaving us with issues both offensively and defensively.
There were times when we tried to take control of the match, but we could not maintain our attacks well and in the end, our opponent took the initiative.
We will switch things up for tomorrow’s match against Mitsubishi Electric and want to do our best as a team. I heard that they didn’t have a very good performance in today’s match against Mitsubishi Electric, but I’m sure they’ll make adjustments and I’m sure they’ll show their pride in today’s loss to us. We will prepare ourselves and give our best to the challenge.
Captain Momoko Inoue
It was a disappointing match, but I feel that the reason for our loss was that we were not able to score as many points as we needed to. In particular, there was a lack of common understanding within the team regarding when to attack and how to identify opportunities. If there had been a clear strategy to secure points in key areas like at Tokyo Haneda, the result might have been a little different.
We saw a lot of aggressive attacks today, but we need to further improve our shot conversion rate. To achieve this, I feel that we need to improve the quality of our collaboration. Also, there were many scenes where we were unable to close the gap because we were unable to connect to the offense after we defended. I thought it was important for the team to share the mindset of always scoring after defending.
Mina Superior
Even though we had a chance to win today’s game, we suffered from a poor start. Especially in the first and third quarters, our opponents took the lead and we were unable to break the flow. If things like this continue, I think we’ll end up having to chase each other and end up with a result that we can’t win. Although we have sufficient ability to catch up, the problem is that the differences at the initial stage affect the results.
In order to create the flow of the game, I believe it is important for everyone on the team to make good shot selections and continue to build cooperative plays. I want to be very conscious of how we can score points as a team.
Aika Watanabe
I believe that the reason we were unable to win was because of a series of small mistakes. Mistakes are unavoidable, but it’s not good to be passive because you’re afraid of them, and I feel like the whole team needs to be more conscious of making up for mistakes when they occur. If you lose a point due to a mistake, you need four more points to make up for it, so these small accumulations end up leading to a big point difference.
Tomorrow’s match against Mitsubishi Electric is a match we want to win no matter what. This is another opponent we couldn’t beat in a close match, but we’ll make sure to switch things up and do our best to take on the challenge. We want to fight until the end in this closely contested Futures League.
