COLCHESTER, England (Interstat) — Essex will host Newcastle on Saturday in a women’s professional basketball game, with both teams looking to build momentum in the early part of the season.

Newcastle enters at 2-2 after a 99-82 loss to Sheffield. Nala Williams is the player to watch for Newcastle. In that game, she finished with 13 points, four rebounds and 13 assists in 30 minutes. Jakayla Johnson added 23 points and four assists, while T. Raven contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. Williams had 20 points, four rebounds and five assists at Caledonia, 14 points, three rebounds and four assists against Nottingham, and 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists at Leicester.

Essex is 1-3 and comes off a 101-66 loss to Manchester. Alexa Mikeska is the player to watch for Essex. She recorded 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes against Manchester. Lucy Coogan added 11 points and five rebounds, and Lara Rohkohl had 12 points and nine rebounds with two blocks. Mikeska also finished with 11 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in Essex’s 91-87 loss at Cardiff.

Newcastle’s other recent results include an 82-104 loss at Caledonia, an 80-55 home win over Nottingham and a 91-70 road win at Leicester. Essex beat Leicester 94-62 at home, lost 57-86 at Caledonia and fell 87-91 at Cardiff. Newcastle will look to Williams and Johnson to lead its offense, while Essex will rely on Mikeska and Rohkohl as it seeks a stronger result at home.

The matchup will give both teams another chance to establish consistency on both ends of the floor. Newcastle will try to use its guard play to dictate tempo, and Essex will look to counter with balanced scoring and rebounding. The game is expected to provide a test of each team’s depth and execution.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Essex 81, Newcastle 75. Newcastle has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -6.5, and the over/under is 160.5.