Falkirk Fury women agonisingly exit Scottish Cup at semi-final stage

Deep into the third quarter with Fury just 3pts behind, it looked as though a shock was in store as the unbeaten capital side and no 1 seed had failed to shake of a determined Falkirk.

But a 10–0 Kats run in the final two minutes of the quarter gave the Cup holders a 13pt lead going into the final stanza.

Fury were unable to close the gap and Kats ran out 18pt winners in what was a closely contested game.

The first had seen Kats take a 14-4 lead, with Kirstie Young the only Fury player to connect early on. However, a long range three from Junior Abby Rutter sparked a Fury run as they closed out the period 7-6, to be still in touch at 19-11.

A closely contested second was tied at 16 apiece, giving Kats an 8pt half-time lead. Fury had four threes in the second from Rutter, Shannon Flippard and two from Alicia McFadden, as their long range game kept them very much in the tie.

The third saw Fury close the gap to three, but that 10-0 run from Kats in the final two minutes proved crucial.

For Fury, Shannon Flippard top scored on 13, with Abby Rutter and Kirstie Young sharing 20 and Alicia McFadden on 9.

Fury Headcoach John Bunyan told the Falkirk Herald: “We came into the game having lost to Kats by 15 in the league, but we have been playing well in recent games, so despite Kats undefeated record this season, we were confident we could make a game of it.

“It did not start like that going 14-4 down, but we dug deep, hit some threes and just worked very hard on defence. Kats have averaged 75pts a game this season, so we cut that by 11, but we fell short at the free throw line, three from 12 and that lapse at the end of third proved costly.

“Kats are not the top team in Scottish Woman’s basketball for nothing and have a group of experienced

players who work well as a team. We did a great job on holding former WBBL Pride player Hannah Peacock to 7pts, but just could not close Emma Findlay down.

“There were many positives for us and we will keep working towards a strong run in the Play-Offs.’

•Weekend preview

Fury Men face a crucial home game this Friday at Grangemouth SC when they face Edinburgh Lions. Tip off is at 8pm and the Falkirk side, despite having a big win against Lions in the away fixture will need to ensure they stay on title track after last week’s 2pt loss to St.Mirren.

Fury’s Division 1 U18 and U16 Men and Women’s teams face Inverness over a four-game super Saturday at the Complex – spectators 
welcome.