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Game 2: Plegia @ Ylisse
Plegia has seen quite a turnaround under new management, going from the worst record in the league to a respectable 11th in the standings in only a month. On the other side, Ylisse has had such a good December, they are within striking distance of both Leicester and Fhirdiad.
Plegia got the game started quickly, using their faster pace to open up a 6-0 lead:
But I could already see a problem: Plegia is very reliant on two players: Owain and Morgan. Morgan matches up well with Tharja, who isn’t a great defender, but Owain is matched up with Chrom, who has become an mvp candidate behind only Edelgard and Rhea.
And it was clear in the 1st quarter that Tharja was about to have the game of her life.
I don’t have a lot of Ylisse highlights because there are only so many layups one can watch. Tharja would have 26 points in the 1st quarter, and Ylisse would lead 19-35 at the end of the 1st.
The second started similarly, this time with Owain and Yarne putting up early points to get the team within 8:
But Tharja would continue to make things miserable for the Wizards:
Add in another 14 points and 4 assists, and Tharja had been responsible for an insane 48 points by halftime.
Chrom would account for 8 of the 19 points not scored by Tharja in the quarter.
Ylisse would lead 30-59 at halftime.
What’s Chrom saying/thinking?!? Fill in the blanks!
With the game all but decided, Ylisse started messing with some weird lineups. How weird? Try Frederick playing the small forward position and shooting 3s weird:
Most of the 3rd quarter consisted of the two teams trading shot for shot, and for some reason I didn’t make any gifs of it outside that 1 Frederick shot. The 3rd quarter would end with Ylisse maintaining the 29 point lead, 66-95.
However, Plegia would finally get through in the 4th:
The big 3 of Owain, Morgan, and Lucina would pull together a 38 point quarter, as the gap began to close quickly.
Alas, it was too little too late, and even Old Hubba couldn’t get Plegia over the 29 point deficit they had collapsed into early in the game.
Ylisse wins at home, 104-117.