Day 6: USA v. Arboga

In the usual fashion, the WNT ate breakfast in their cottages before heading to the gym for a training session from 10:00am-11:45am. After several days of training and games, the session focused on more technical aspects such as shooting and passing, with a little bit of offense-defense strategy at the end.

After practice, everyone headed back to shower and have lunch at the bistro before preparing for an early depature for the evening's game.

At around 3:30pm, the WNT got onto a bus and headed an hour away to play Arboga, a Division 2 team that is currently ranked in first place. The team arrived in the gym fairly early and had time to get settled and eat a snack before warming up in front of a growing crowd.

When the warm-up was complete, the WNT gathered behind the gym to prepare for their grand entrance. Arboga had created an exciting introduction for the US team that included smoke, lasers, music, and spotlights as they ran onto the court and greeted the 300 or so people that filled the seats and left many standing throughout the game.

Once again, the WNT got off to a bit of a slow start, and fell behind in the first few minutes of the game. The pace was fast, but the WNT players continued to push to stay with the high speed of Arboga. At the end of the first half, the WNT returned to the locker room with a two point deficit (13-11).

Determined to win the game, the WNT came out strong after halftime and was able to keep the high speed of the game, pushing the fast break, and disrupting the other team's ball movement on defense. It was an exciting game, and the players pushed hard until the very end to take a win with a final score of 27-22.

This game showed a definite improvement in the beginning of the game, and continued the four game streak of coming back and winning in the second half of the game. There is an improving confidence in the players as they build their winning attiutude, even when facing more challenging teams. It was a fun game for the players and the crowd, and after the game the WNT headed to a local restaurant to enjoy dinner with the players from Arboga before heading back to Vasteras.

USA 27, Arboga 22