VIMODROM Baskets Jena Fall to the Eisvögel

Still, things went according to plan for a long time: After the first quarter, Jena held a narrow 14–13 lead. Then came the second quarter. Freiburg turned the game around with a 20–7 run and headed into the locker room with a 12-point lead (33–21). That one stretch essentially decided the game by halftime. Freiburg also won the third quarter 10–8 (43–29), but in the final quarter, our team found its rhythm again and held its own with a 22–22 performance.

The shooting statistics reveal where the game was ultimately lost. Only 19 of 75 field goal attempts went in—that’s 25 percent. From the three-point line, just 2 of 21 shots found the net. Despite this, our team grabbed more rebounds than the opponent (57–54, including 20 offensive rebounds) and recorded more steals (17 compared to Freiburg’s 14). However, 26 turnovers of our own compared to Freiburg’s 22 erased this advantage. At the free-throw line, Jena, with the same number of attempts (18), made 11 (61 percent), clearly trailing Freiburg (16, 89 percent).

“Losing is never particularly pleasant, but overall, I’m not dissatisfied with the team’s performance today. It was clear that our offensive flow is still stalling in a few places here and there, but that should be easy to fix as the season progresses. I’m incredibly proud today of my team’s very courageous performance on the boards and of how physically we played to minimize our height disadvantage as much as possible,” said head coach Sandra Rosanke after the game.

Elza Bierina was the standout scorer for VIMODROM Baskets Jena with 23 points; nearly half of Jena’s total points came from her. She made half of her two-point attempts (7/14) and drove to the basket repeatedly, earning nine free throws, six of which she made. Annika Heck finished with 10 points and 4 assists. Hannah Biwersi played the longest, logging 36:24 minutes on the court, and contributed 7 points. Inga Ruppe was quiet on offense with 2 points, but with 5 steals and 4 assists, she was one of the most valuable players on defense. Stella Nwaobi (4 points), Laura Thiele (2), and Jenna Rosanke, who hit a three-pointer in her 7:32 minutes of play, rounded out the scoring. Lisa Hoppe failed to score in her 20:12 minutes of play.

From a competitive standpoint, there were already some positive signs to be seen, though the intense comeback effort in the second half clearly took its toll. The fact that VIMODROM Baskets Jena still managed to keep the game close in the final quarter with a 22–22 score is, under these circumstances, a good sign for the coming weeks. This is something to build on.

Inga Ruppe, 26:00, 2 | Elza Bierina, 31:42, 23 | Annika Heck, 33:08, 10 | Jenna Rosanke, 7:32, 3 | Hannah Biwersi, 36:24, 7 | Lisa Hoppe, 20:12, 0 | Stella Nwaobi, 19:55, 4 | Laura Thiele, 25:07, 2