Women's Trophy - club reports

A great night at the Hub as Panthers welcomed Trophy holders Birmingham Force, a good size crowd with a fantastic atmosphere waited with bated breath as the game got under way. Jo Leedham & Wendy Smith traded free throws,then two fast breaks and a nice three from Jen Leedham gave Panthers an early lead but 5points from Klamparova including a long three, along with strong inside help from Smith and some accurate outside shooting from Carlsson & Renton saw Force up by 4 at the end of the first quarter.

Panthers started getting some offensive rebounds with Alex Lodge & Jennifer Fields leading the way this allowed Jen & Jo Leedham to plunder 13 points between them, tacked onto this was a brace from Alex Lodge. Force were restricted to 2points in the first six minutes as Panthers racked up 18 to go 12 points clear. Renton steadied the ship with another three & a long two, unfortunately for Force Smith picked up her fourth personal and Panthers went in at the half 39-28.

Smith came out in the third determined to put things right and led the the fight back. Klamparova & Renton gained inspiration from Smith and all of a sudden Force were right back in the game at 51-50 showing they were not prepared to lay down and die.

A timely three from Jen Leedham put Panthers up by 4 and when Jo Leedham went to the stripe with four seconds left of the quarter the crowd waited expectantly. Uncharacteristicly she missed both but good defence trapped Force on the sideline and they stepped out of bounds, this gave Panthers possession with 2 seconds remaining; a lovely side line move was converted by Jo Leedham to close the quarter with Panthers 6 points to the good.

The final quarter got underway with the Panthers being roared on by great home support, baskets were traded thick & fast, after just scoring her 17th point Smith fouled out leaving Force without their inside game. Renton & Klamparova hit threes to keep them in touch but slick passing to run the clock down allowed Panthers to secure a famous victory and set up a clash with Solent Stars in Nottingham.

Panthers scorers Jo Leedham 33, Jen Leedham 18, Fields 9, Clark & Lodge 6, Edwards 2.
Force scorers Renton 19, Smith 17, Klamparova 15, Carlsson & Blake 5, Gangstad & Davis 2.

Solent Stars came through a tough National Trophy quarter final game against Brixton Topcats and now look forward to the semi final draw this week.

With both teams playing aggressive man to man defence it promised to be an aggressive battle and so it turned out to be. Solent started strongly moving the ball with Katerina Syngellakis scoring inside and Vikki Willmore slicing through the defence from the perimeter.

Then Sarah Cooper got in on the act scoring a turn around jump shot from the baseline. Onkorah finally got Brixton on the scoresheet but then Cristie Rourke came off the bench to score and Willmore capped an excellent quarter by hitting another deuce to end the quarter leading by fourteen points.

The second quarter saw Brixton come back into the game strongly and step up their defensive hustle. Ogundare had an outstanding quarter at the offensive end scoring nine pints and sparking Brixton back into the game. However Solent managed to keep their double digit lead as they rotated their players. Ball scored a jump shot on the perimeter and Syngellakis and Cooper continued to keep the score ticking over. Lynne Powell scored from the corner right on the buzzer to send Solent in at the half leading by thirteen points.

Coach Jimmy Rogers really had his players fired up after the break. The second half had Brixton all over the offensive glass with their first few visits down the floor.

When Ogundare capitalised on one of several second chance opportunities to score three and put Brixton back within ten points it was time for Solent to step up and show some character. This they did and went on a 16-2 run. This spurt saw Rosie Chase, stepping up from the junior team, take her opportunity displaying a calm head. She penetrated for an excellent pull up jump shot inside the key, made good solid decisions and play strong defence on the ball.

As the quarter ended Rourke hit a basket in transition and Solent had extended their lead to beyond twenty points.

The fourth quarter again saw Ogundare leading from the front but the gap was too great to make up. Catherine Brownsell added to all round defensive display by stepping up to help handle the Brixton pressure and then confidently hit a big three. Chase added four more points and Kathryn Hield scored inside as the game came to an end.

"I know that we will get a tough game whenever we face Brixton. Jimmy always motivates his players to play with passion and energy.

"I am pleased to have made it through to the semi final and hope that our players have learned that we must step up and match the opposition's effort if we are to be successful.

"It was important today that we played with composure and confidence on offence. We probably managed it for 75 per cent of the time today which is a great step forward from the beginning of the season", commented Coach Ball after the game.

Scorers:
SOLENT Cooper 14, Willmore 13, Syngellakis 8, Chase 6, Brownsell 5, Rourke 4, Powell 4, Ball 3, Hield 2

BRIXTON Ogundare 17, Odusanya 6, Adeshina 4, Oukorah 2, Adeniji 2, McKoy 2, Dixon 1

Today saw Panthers Junior Women make the long haul up to the NorthEast coast to take on Northumbria Tyne & Wear in the Women's Trophy at the Temple Park Leisure Centre.

Panthers started well but Taacha Brown hit the games first two points to sting the Panthers into action. Jo Leedham hooked up with a nice pass from Lucy Edwards to start the points rolling and then successive baskets from sister Jennifer and a basket each from Kim Jones & Nicole Clark saw Panthers stretch out to 10-2.

Northumbria replied with a three pointer from Zoe Vickers & another two from the impressive Brown to come roaring back but with Johannah Leedham starting to find her feet on the slippery floor & Alex Lee helping out on the defensive boards Panthers closed the quarter at 24-12.

The second quarter continued along the same lines with coach McGinn able to rotate his younger bench players into the game without restricting the score. Deidre Hayes was linking up well with Taacha Brown on the fast break to keep Northumbria in touch but Jennifer Leedham was back to her scoring form and was driving strong to the basket ably assisted by Johannah Leedham and some fine shooting by Kim Jones.

Nicole Clark was in foul trouble picking up her fourth foul, but the bench was used to a good effect with Emma Lacey and Kirsty Leedham opening their accounts. As half time was imminent Emma Ross picked up a big rebound and launched a three from inside her own half which crashed in off the backboard to close half time at 50-34 Panthers.

Northumbria came out strong and led by Brown and a three from Jenny James went on a 12-4 run but the run was ended with a long two from Jennifer Leedham and consistent shooting from the foul line by Johannah. Panthers were matched throughout the quarter and closed at 74-55.

Fourth quarter saw a spirited fight back by Northumbria as they found their range with a couple of three pointers from Jenny James and one from Zoe Vickers, a couple of good rebounds from Sarah Bennett brought the game back to seven, but unfortunately Taacha Brown had picked up her fifth foul and Deidre Hayes had retired hurt with a shoulder injury.

A time out from coach McGinn steadied the ship, some neat passing from the Panthers to run the clock down saw the game close at 91-84.

Scorers for Northumbria were Taacha Brown 32, Zoe Vickers 16, Jenny James 10, Emma Ross 9, Sarah Bennett 8, Deidre Hayes 6 and Charis Younger 3.

The Mystics played their best basketball of the season in the first half and took a 13 point lead to the changing room.

Perhaps they were a little complacent, but they could only watch as the Panthers shot 7 three pointers in a few minutes of the third quarter to take a firm lead. They showed plenty of character as they fought back from this shock to go into the last quarter 2 points ahead.

After a scrappy last quarter, the Panthers had a 2 point lead with 8 seconds to go, but the Mystics, having made one free throw, could not quite make the last crucial basket and lost by one.

For such a young team, this is a game they can learn from and they should not be downhearted.

Solent Stars women's team advanced from their second round Trophy tie with an emphatic performance away to Taunton Tigers.

Upon their previous meeting on October Solent had won a close defensive battle by 49 points to 35. However Solent went into this game with Vikki Willmore, Lynne
Powell and Eszter Ball all out with injuries and illness and Taunton were confident of reversing the previous result.

But the Solent team has improved since their first encounter and Taunton had
unfortunately lost Jo Derrick and Millie Watkins was still out injured.
The start of the game seemed to indicate that indeed Stars would be in for hard encounter. After four minutes the score was 5-4 to Taunton. However during a
Taunton timeout Coaches Ball and Lee urged their players to continue to play aggressively. The team responded with their pressure defence, initiated by
Catherine Brownsell stealing the ball on several occasions, leading to easy fast break opportunities.

Katerina Syngellakis, Sarah Cooper, Brownsell, Claire Wiseman and Cristie Rourke all scored during this 20-3 run that brought the first quarter to an end.

The second quarter saw Kathryn Hield and juniors, Jodi Jerram and Alice Walton, introduced to the game. The team continued to pour on the points. Jerram in particular impressed hitting three points and playing great defence. The half finished with the game effectively ended as the Stars led by thirty points.

The third quarter saw Taunton switch up defensively mixing up man to man and zone defences. This defensive switch together with a drop in Solent's focus led to a tight low scoring ten minutes. Hannah Watkins in particular was proving a real handful for Solent to contain.

The third quarter highlight was for another junior player, Stevie Ellis, to come off the bench and score her first points for the Senior team from the free throw line.
Rourke got the final quarter off to a positive start for Stars scoring a quick two points. Ellis scored two more inside followed by Syngellakis and a turn around jump shot from Ellis at the low post. Kathryn Hield hit a nice baseline jump shot and Walton followed a missed shot with an offensive rebound and a put back.

As the game came to a close every Solent player had scored and the team could look forward to a home Quarter Final encounter against Brixton Topcats on December 13th.
Scorers:
SOLENT Cooper 21, Syngellakis 11, Jerram 10, Jones 8, Brownsell 7, Wiseman 5, Ellis 5, Rourke 4, Hield 4, Walton 2
TAUNTON Watkins 12, Ciesielski 6, Brindley 4, Gough 3, Cox 2, Franklin 2, Ridgway 1

Once again this season the “Lightning” entered the Senior Women’s National Trophy and after their 1^st Round opponents had conceded the game they could count themselves a little unfortunate to come against 2^nd Division pacesetters London “Towers”. The “Lightning” were handicapped by injury to guard Naomi Sterling who had ‘rolled’ an ankle in the Cadette game and back up centre Nauel Saeed who had suffered the same injury in a school game earlier in the week.

In the first quarter both teams struggled to find any kind of rhythm but “Towers” edged it 15-11 thanks to being more accurate form the free throw line. The “Lightning” had been playing a zone defence and in an attempt to force more errors coach, Karen Goodrich switched to a more aggressive man-to-man defence. This certainly made the game more interesting as a spectacle but the Londoners still looked the more cohesive attacking force and they led 34-26 at half time.

The “Lightning’s main scoring threat had been the perimeter shooting of Hayley Swann but their inside players had been unable to find any joy against the more athletic “Towers”. Even so the “Lightning” were still in contention at 53-40 going into the fourth quarter. If they were to win the game it was imperative that the Northants girls got their running game going but in the event just the opposite happened as they were forced into a half court game. In the last period they were outscored 10-5 to go down 63-45, no disgrace but still a disappointing result.

For the “Lightning” Swann scored 17 personal points but Andrea Wanstall who was making a guest appearance, was the only other “Lightning” player to get into double figures.

SHEFFIELD HATTERS 62 SOUTHEND SWIFTS 52
Southend's long trip north ended in disappointment as they fell to defeat against Sheffield Hatters in the second round of the National Trophy in a match played at the magnificently appointed English Institute of Sport.

A combination of injury and illness had left Swifts depleted and they were forced to include cadet captain Rebecca Rambin, who should have been playing for own side in Brighton. Sheffield, as a club, boast the finest record in womens basketball and fielded a very experienced squad for the match.

Hatters started much the stronger, opening an 11-3 lead, but Swifts recovered their composure, with an Emma Camp three-pointer reducing the deficit down to 2. Neither team could establish a convincing margin before two late scores from Sheffield gave them a 22-15 first quarter lead.

The opening segment of the second period saw neither side able to find the basket, with the home side spurning seven out of eight foul shot opportunities. Swifts Martina Michalickova took over the game, scoring seven points in a row, and with Fran Hitt scoring from distance, suddenly it was a one point game. But Sheffield's experience came to the fore and they made an 11-4 run over the remainder of the period to lead 36-28 at the half time interval.

The third stanza saw Southend fare little better. Scoring just seven points in the 10 minutes, it was only changes in defensive formation that kept them remotely in the game as they trailed 52-35 going into the final period.

When Michalickova fouled out after three minutes of the quarter, it was probably a case of damage limitation as Swifts were down 56-37. But this seemed to galvanise the Essex side as they started to exert some excellent pressure defence. With Amy Andrews and Emma Camp seeming to cover the entire court. Sheffield started to turn the ball over. Six points in a row from Kasey Jennings saw the deficit slowly reduce and when Camp hit a clutch three-pointer as the 24 second clock was counting down, the scoreline was just 58-50 to Hatters.

But that was as close as it would get and with neither side scoring in the final two minutes, Sheffield ran out deserved winners by 62 points to 52. Had Swifts played in the first 34 minutes as they did in the last 6 (winning 15-6) it may have been a different result.

The National Trophy is a senior competition for all clubs below Division 1 and was won by Swifts in 2001. In the first round this season, they welcomed old adversaries Cardiff Clippers, who have made a much improved start after a difficult campaign last year.

Both sides struggled for superiority early on as the lead rapidly changed hands before two baskets in a row from Cardiff's Aimee Gould gave her side a 13-10 advantage. Southend regained their poise and an 11-7 run in the remainder of the first period gave them the narrowest of leads at 21-20.

The teams again swapped scores early on and six minutes into the period the game was tied at 29. But Swifts Martina Michalickova had picked up her fourth foul and she was forced to return to the bench. The hosts brought in 14 year old Jane Barclay and she soon made her presence felt at both ends of the court. Six points in a row from Emma Camp gave Southend some breathing space and despite conceding a late basket they held a 41-36 half time advantage.

Both teams struggled to score in the early part of the third quarter before four points from Swifts captain Jo Andrews and a second basket from Barclay followed by a three-point play from Fran Hitt gave the home side a double digit margin at 52-40. Southend looked to settle matters as further scores from Hitt and Amy Andrews saw them go into the final stanza up 62-50.

When Amy Andrews hit a three-point shot after two minutes the lead was 67-52 and the game should have been over. But no one had told the Welsh team, and a change in defensive formation brought them 10 points in a row, to trail by just 5. Swifts recovered and when the younger Miss Andrews hit her second three-pointer, the lead was 72-64 with two minutes to play.

But four points in a row for Cardiff brought them within touching distance and when their Sharleen Wilson scored her 10th point of the period it was 73-70 to Swifts and the whole crowd screaming their encouragement. But despite their youth, Southend kept their nerve and scored the last point of the contest to record an excellent 74-70 victory against very tenacious opponents.

Fran Hitt 15, Sarah Wagstaff 13 and Amy Andrews with her best performance of the season with 11 had led Swifts to a tough second round tie at Sheffield next weekend.

Solent emphatically won their first round National Trophy clash with Leicester Riders by 99 points to 31 and will now face Taunton Tigers in the second round.

The game started with Coaches Ball and Lee asking the team to start with more energy and focus than the last game against Cardiff Clippers.

The players duly responded with Catherine Brownsell, back from injury, playing great defence and leading the fast break to score the first two baskets. Campbell hit back for Leicester, but after Vikki Willmore and Orton traded baskets, Solent went on a 9-0 run with Claire Wiseman, Lynne Powell and Katerina Syngellakis all contributing. As the quarter finished Solent had
stretched the lead to 17 points.

The second quarter saw Solent continue their offensive onslaught. Claire Wiseman opened with three points as the Leicester zone defence tried to stop Stars inside game. Coach Ball began to rotate his players and Carrie Jones made an immediate impact scoring off a great assist from Wiseman and then adding six more points and playing with real poise on offence. Then Jones became provider leading to another fast break basket from Eszter Ball.

Juniors Jodi Jerram and Alice Walton were introduced to the game and Kathryn Hield replaced Syngellakis. Hield immediately caused her personal army of fans to jump for joy as she powered inside to score two points. Jerram, beginning to relax on court, hit a jump shot in transition and the half was brought to an end with another two points for Hield.

The break saw Ball and Lee asking for the team to remain focused and not to drop their defensive intensity even though the team led by 31 points. Some of the teams ball movement in the third quarter, going inside then out, was a joy to watch leading to open scoring opportunities.

However Leicester did not drop their heads and continued to play hard. As in the first quarter all five starters scored with Ball also getting in on the act hitting three points as the quarter ended.

The final quarter saw the starting five rested but it did not affect the offensive output of the team. Jerram, in her best spell for the Senior team, pushed the ball down the court and hit her open shots. Jones and Ball were also shooting with confidence and in the last few minutes Walton started to nail her perimeter shots as well. The Leicester players started to tire and only managed to score 4 points in the last quarter as Solent ran out with their most convincing offensive performance of the season so far.

Scorers:
SOLENT: Syngellakis 15, Wiseman 13, Jones 12, Ball 11, Brownsell 11, Powell 10, Jerram 10, Walton 7, Willmore 6, Hield 4
LEICESTER: Campbell 11, Orton 8, Abramova 6, Taylor 2, Roberts 2, Timms 2