US Team Handball Women's National Team

Going into the weekend of February 24-25, the US Team Handball Women's National Team (WNT) needed to win two of their three games to secure a spot in the Quebec League Playoffs.   With assistant captain Jennifer Haubrich out with a torn labrum, and several players unable to travel, a thin bench made the already challenging task a bit more difficult.

The first game of the weekend took place against Granby on their home court an hour north of Montreal.   Although the WNT has a strong record against them, the last time they faced off, Granby squeaked out a one-point win in the last few seconds of the game. Determined not to see this happen again, the WNT came onto the court with a real fire to win.

"It was a great team effort," said assistant coach Dawn Lewis, "I was happy with the strong start and the way the team maintained their composure throughout the match.   Granby fought hard to take the lead, but we controlled the tempo and took care of the ball, playing a full 60-minutes."

Indeed, the team chemistry was apparent on the court and in the numbers, with eight out of ten players scoring and with contributions from every position.   Kathy led the WNT in goals, scoring eight, with team captain "T" and right wing Melanie McCormick each putting in four.  

Final Score: Granby 27,   USA 31

The next morning, the WNT made the one-hour drive from Granby to Montreal to play first-ranked Champlain 1 on their home court.   The game started off a little bit shaky, with Champlain taking an early five point lead, but the WNT quickly lessened the goal difference to one point, which they maintained for a good fifteen minutes before Champlain took a six point lead right before the end of the half.

"We played them with a lot of confidence offensively in the first 12 minutes, forcing them out of their 3-3 defense," remarked Lewis.   "Unfortunately we did not uphold the same level of aggressiveness when they switched to a 5-1.   As a result, we will continue to work on our technical skills so we can better react to a variety of defensive pressures."

Although their effort didn't produce a win, one of the major improvements for the WNT was the shooting, especially against Canadian National Team goalie Audrey Touchette, who has been a major factor in keeping previous scores so low.   Kathy Darling lead the WNT again with eight points, and goals were again contributed by eight of the ten players.

"Even though we lost, it was a really good game for us in a sense that we scored more than we ever scored, and we felt confident and played as a team for the first time in a long time, certainly since the Canada games in January," said team captain Tomuke "T" Ebuwei, who put in six goals against Champlain.

"It was really good for us mentally because we were actually scoring and we felt comfortable and were really loose.   We integrated a lot more players into our offense, using the wings and circles more, and the offense looked a lot smoother.   This game will definitely be used as a stepping stone for the last two weekends in March."

Although the shooting was certainly an improvement, the WNT was unable to come back from the six point deficit of the first 30-minutes, despite a hard-fought last half.

Final Score: Champlain 32- USA 26

Coming right off the heels of the Champlain game, the WNT took on second-ranked Montreal, a team that beat the USA in the semi-finals of last year's playoffs, and has since benefited from the return of one of their star players from overseas.

The game began with Montreal taking an early lead, and the WNT never being able to close the gap.  

"With a depleted team, specifically having only four back courts, we simply ran out of gas by game three.   Despite our obvious fatigue, the team continued to play hard," said Lewis. "I think if we'd had this match earlier in the weekend, things would have been different."

"Had we played Montréal first on Sunday, I think we would have won," agreed Ebuwei, "We spent a lot of mental and physical energy in the Champlain game right before and in the Granby game the previous evening- that's what happens when you play 3 games in 20 hours- something is going to falter. I think what this shows is that we really put everything out on the court in the first two games, and there wasn't enough left to really do the job in the third."

Final Score: Montreal 28- USA 16

Despite the disappointing finish, there were a lot of positives to be taken from the weekend.  

"Finishing 1-2 on the weekend hurts.  But, the scores against Champlain and Montreal are not indicative of how the team played," explains Dawn Lewis.   "Their spirit and support was infectious and the effort solid, resulting in a great team effort and well rounded performances.  The offensive flow is still evolving, but it is slowly coming together."   

Although the offense improvements and scoring were an obvious area of improvement, the weekend also saw the goalies stepping up and making some great saves.

"The intensity and communication in training has begun to show dividends for the goalies.  Erika Bohn played well against both Granby and Montreal, doing a much better job of attacking the shooter and waiting to react, specifically on wing and fast break shots.  She is starting to get a real feel for the goal....the confidence, timing and mental aspects of the game that are required.  Saving penalty shots, as both Erika and Jacque did this weekend, were, and will continue to be a needed jolt as well."

The WNT will play four more games in the Quebec League, two on March 18, and two on March 25- all in Canada.   As of the standings right now, they will need to win all four to secure a spot in the playoffs in April.