It was a tale of two halves at the Hawks Nest on Saturday, as West Yorkshire Hawks Women staged a spirited comeback but ultimately came up just short in a 71-74 loss to the Tees Valley Mohawks.

Both teams came out firing, trading early baskets in a high-tempo opening quarter. But it was the visitors who found their groove first, building a 7-point lead by the end of the first period. Tees Valley extended their momentum in the second quarter, with their offense proving tough to contain. The Hawks struggled to get stops, and the gap widened to 15 points by halftime.

As has become a familiar theme, the Neon and Navy came out with renewed intensity after the break. A 22-point third quarter cut the deficit to just 12 points, setting the stage for a dramatic final push.

The fourth quarter saw the Hawks crank up the defensive pressure, holding Tees Valley to just 10 points and creating several key turnovers. Despite a thrilling late rally, the Mohawks held their nerve in the dying moments to escape the Nest with a hard-fought three-point win.

Hawks scoring was led by Sonia Maria Matei with 19 points, while Ginny Neher added 14 in a strong offensive showing.

Player-coach Mollie Oates reflected on the performance, saying: “That was a great game and credit to Tees Valley for taking the win. We put in a strong second half but again we are slow getting started in games and it is costing us. We will work on that in future weeks.”

The Hawks can take plenty of positives from their second-half display, and they’ll be looking to build on it next weekend when they return to the Nest to face the Birmingham Rockets. Tip-off is at 4pm, and fans can grab their tickets now at https://tktp.as/ERACCR. Use code HAWKS20 for 20% off all tickets.