Manchester Mystics ease to triple figure victory over Oakland Wolves

A commanding victory for the Manchester Mystics over the Oakland Wolves at the National Basketball Performance Centre sees the Mystics move into joint third in the league, level on points with the Sheffield Hatters and the Nottingham Wildcats.

The Mystics absolutely obliterated the Wolves, both in attack and defence. 

Samantha Roscoe scored a team high of 23 points to go with nine rebounds and Georgia Jones finished with a near triple double, a rare feat in basketball, scoring 21 points, 8 rebounds and recording 7 assists. 

Impressively for the Manchester side, every single Mystics player scored at least once. 

The Mystics came out firing from the jump, with a 17 – 2 run to start the first, and realistically the game might as well have ended there. For all of their scoring prowess, the story of the game was actually their defence. 

There was absolutely no rust after the international break and the return of previously injured guard Rachel James did nothing to disrupt their rhythm. By the time the first quarter buzzer sounded, the score was 41 – 8. 

The second quarter started well for the Wolves, who were able to slow down the Mystics offence a little, restricting them to only three points in as many minutes. 

But the Mystics would not be denied and soon regained their shooting stroke, finishing the half strong and heading to the locker room with a 37-point advantage. 

In the second half, the Mystics continued to pour it on, pounding the paint and playing stifling defence, much to the delight of coach Jeff Jones. 

Every starter on the team scored in double digits, and guard Rheanne Bailey was especially efficient, shooting 71% percent from the field. 

The score gap only continued to grow, and by the end of the third quarter, the score was 90 – 41. 

The fourth quarter showed everyone watching why this team is pushing for the playoffs. The Mystics continued strongly in offence, but again, perhaps the most impressive part of this quarter was their commitment to the defensive end. 

They held the Wolves to just five points for the entire quarter, and were forcing turnovers literally down to the last possession of the game. The bench of the Mystics had their time to shine, and the starters enjoyed the opportunity to cheer on their fellow teammates. 

It was all smiles from the Mystics, and a sombre atmosphere when it came to Wolves, who just couldn’t seem to do anything right. 

Mystics guard Rheanne Bailey said afterwards: “I think we shocked ourselves. We knew we could play that well: we just haven’t played that well for as long – ever, really.” 

Dominating wins like this are great for momentum, and the Mystics will have a chance to play both their second-place rivals the Newcastle Eagles and the Sevenoaks Suns again this season, who have one and two games in hand respectively. 

With their destiny in their own hands, the future is looking very bright for the Mystics.