18/10; 25/10; 01/11; 08/11; 15/11; 22/11; 29/11; 06/12; 13/12; 20/12; 17/01; 24/01; 31/01; 07/02; 14/02; 21/02; 28/02; 07/03; 14/03; 21/03; 28/03

 

W/e 28th March 2010

Phoenix Ladies end season in disappointing fashion.

Birmingham A’s 94 Wellingborough Phoenix 66

Wellingborough Phoenix Ladies fell to a disappointing away defeat to winless Birmingham A's on Saturday to finish the season.

In a game between the two bottom teams in the league Phoenix matched the A's in the early part of the first quarter with 4 points from Naomi Sterling meaning they were only down three. However Birmingham then went on an incredible scoring spree where every possession they had seemed to result in a basket. They ended the first quarter on a 14-0 run and continued to shoot well into the second quarter. Despite six more points in the second from Naomi Sterling Phoenix ended the half down 22 at 42-22.

Phoenix improved in the second half and matched the A's. Wellingborough found the offense that had been lacking in the first half and were able to get the scoreboard ticking over. Naomi Sterling hit a 3 pointer early in the 3rd and was backed up by Hannah Smith who scored 5 points in the quarter. Unfortunately Phoenix were unable to slow down the A's on the offensive end as they were able to score 22 points in the 3rd to maintain a healthy advantage.

Phoenix showed some character in the fourth quarter. Whilst the result was all but decided Phoenix refused to give up and again matched Birmingham. This time Imogen Cox hit a quick three pointer for Wellingborough and this was followed by two three pointers from Jordan Elliot-King who scored 13 points in the quarter. Unfortunately Phoenix had given themselves too much work to do from the first half and Birmingham were able to match them basket for basket avenging their loss to Phoenix earlier in the season. The game ended 94-66 and meant that despite their win against the A's at Weavers Phoenix finished the season at the bottom of the league.

Naomi Sterling led the way for Phoenix with 18 points. She was backed up by Hannah Smith and Imogen Cox who both had 12 and also Jordan Elliot-King who scored 13 points all in the fourth quarter.

Reflecting on the loss coach Barry Powell said "it was hard to end the season with a performance that didn’t show the progress we have made in recent weeks. We knew we were without two key players, and were down on options in the back court as a result, but we were collectively short at the both ends of the floor.”

Looking back at the season as a whole he added “It’s been a long, long road, we started in an unenviable position, having to rebuild a squad from scratch after the freak series of season long injuries and personal circumstances that affected the build up to the season last summer, but we made the decision to try to make it work and we have battled away all season and completing the season is an achievement in itself. We now start the process of looking towards next season, and wish for a luckier summer.”

Brixton Topcats 55 City of Sheffield Hatters 79

Hatters finished their league programme in London and returned North with another win, the nineteenth in twenty league games this season. The result, however, doesn’t tell the full story, with the London side matching the champions for three quarters of the game.

Hatters led 16-12 after the first quarter and had increased the lead slightly by half time, going into the break 30-21 ahead. Any thoughts of a comfortable second half were quickly put on hold as the Londoners took the game to Vanessa Ellis’s side, reducing the deficit to seven by the three quarter mark with the score at 41-48 in favour of the visitors.

Hatters finally got going in the final quarter, scoring 31 points to ease away to what eventually became a comfortable 79-55 victory.

Top Scorers: Naylor 25, Crowley 17, Watkins 12.

The victory means that Hatters win the league by 4 points from UWIC Archers.

Hatters qualify for the play-off’s seeded number one and will entertain Sunday’s opponents Brixton Topcats at All Saints on the weekend of 10/11 April 2010. In the other play-off games, UWIC Archers will play Sevenoaks Suns whilst Nottingham entertain Northumbria and Leeds face Barking Abbey.

The winning quarter finalists will then compete the final four weekend on 24/25 April 2010.

W/e 21st March 2010

Phoenix Ladies suffer away day blues

Barking Abbey 107 Wellingborough Phoenix 36

It was hard work for the Phoenix squad as they travelled to London to face Barking and came away frustrated at their effort was not better rewarded following a series of over-zealous refereeing decisions saw Naomi Sterling ejected for receiving two technical fouls in the second period leaving the visitors short-handed.

Sterling’s ejection was particularly harsh on Wellingborough as she was doing a great job of subduing Barking’s star Australian and the league’s top scorer Natalie Stafford restricting her to just eight points prior to leaving the game two minutes before half time.

Phoenix started the game well defensively, but allowed the home side to run in too many easy baskets from sloppy turnovers as they jumped into a 25-11 lead after the first period with Hannah Smith with six points putting in some solid resistance at the offensive end.

Wellingborough started the second quarter in more disciplined fashion opening with an 8-2 run to close the gap to ten, but then as they allowed the home side to put together a 27-0 run to close the half and take the game away from the visitors, as Phoenix went into half-time facing a daunting 56-19 deficit.

The third quarter was a lacklustre performance from the Phoenix girls as they had been knocked out of their stride after losing Sterling, and although Wellingborough rotated their squad, they could find no method of checking Barking’s points haul as the home side extended their advantage to 92-28 going into the final period.

Phoenix performed better in the final period, slowing the home side down, but eventually went down 107-36.

Hannah Smith top scored for Wellingborough with 10 points, Meriem Eerikinharju finished with 8 while putting in another 100% foul shooting display and Jordan Elliott-King added 7, but Wellingborough had no answers for Stafford’s 34 points, she was ably supported by Harriett Yea who ended with 26.

W/e 14th March 2010

WELLINGBOROUGH PHOENIX 58 BRIXTON TOPCATS 66
Phoenix Ladies failed to capitalise on a great opportunity to pick up their second win of the season on Sunday at Weavers.

Following a slow start in the first quarter, when they were outscored 12-1 by the Topcats, Phoenix recovered to trail by only one point midway through the fourth quarter and were only down by three with thirty seconds remaining.

Phoenix missed their first ten shots and did not score a field goal until Hannah Smith's basket with 53 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Fortunately they were able to keep the game in reach by getting to the foul line and converting their free throws during this barren spell. At the end of the quarter they trailed the visitors 16-8.

Crystal Sterling made a quick basket at the start of the second quarter before Brixton went on a 6-0 run to give them a double digit lead. Phoenix answered with a 6-0 run of their own with baskets from Crystal Sterling, Hannah Scott-Evans and Smith to return the deficit to six points. Seven quick points from Brixton gave them a 13 point lead. This was to be the Topcats largest lead of the night and Phoenix showed some character to get back in the game. A three pointer from Naomi Sterling provided the spark for Phoenix to go on an 8-1 run to end the quarter and keep the game within 5 points going into halftime.

The two teams traded baskets in the 3rd quarter with Naomi Sterling and Imogen Cox both making 3-pointers and four points from Meriem Eerikinharju keeping the game close. However despite a further three points from Eerikinharju and another basket by Crystal Sterling Brixton finished the quarter strongly and were able to take an 8 point lead into the final quarter.

Phoenix started the fourth quarter brightly outscoring Brixton 12-5. Two 3-pointers from Eerikinharju and baskets from Cox and Crystal Sterling meant that the Topcats lead was reduced to just two points. Brixton were then able to get a point at the free throw line before Eerikinharju answered with two free throws of her own to make the score 52-53 with five minutes remaining. Unfortunately this was as close as the score got as Brixton enjoyed the better of the closing minutes. Another basket from Eerikinharju with 30 seconds remaining reduced the deficit back down to three points but with such little time left in the game Wellingborough were forced to foul and Brixton closed the game by making five free throws to make the final score 58-66.

Wellingborough received a great effort off the bench from Eerikinharju who led all scorers with 24 points as well as grabbing 7 rebounds. She did a good job of getting to the foul line and punished Brixton by converting 10 out of 11 free throws. Crystal Sterling backed her up well scoring 10 points and also recording 7 rebounds of her own. Rochelle Davids recorded a double-double for the visitors scoring 20 points to go with her 11 rebounds.

Phoenix head into the penultimate league game of the season against a Barking Abbey team who they lost narrowly against at home before finishing the season at Birmingham A's whom they beat at Weavers last month. Both are very winnable games and Coach Barry Powell will be pleased by the battling qualities shown by his team following their heavy loss at the hands of Nottingham Wildcats last weekend, but frustrated at the failure to grasp the opportunity of taking a second win of the season.

 

Hatters seal title

City of Sheffield Hatters 71 Barking Abbey 38

City of Sheffield Hatters wrapped up their defence of the Women’s National League Division One title with a resounding victory over Barking Abbey at Doncaster Deaf School.

Hatters took control form the start of the game and by the end of the first quarter had built a 19-4 lead.

If Vanessa Ellis’s side had any thoughts that the game was over, the visitors quickly dispelled them in the second quarter, trading points with the champions elect. Hatters edged the quarter 16-15 to go into the half time break leading 35-19.

Whatever coach Ellis said at half time had an immediate effect and Hatters returned to the court in dominant form, piling on 22 third quarter points to go into the final ten minutes leading 57-24.

Barking Abbey again traded points with Hatters in the last quarter, but the game was well beyond them and Hatters comfortably wrapped up the game, and the title with a 71-38 victory.

Top scorers: Crowley 16, Naylor 12, Hutchinson 12.

W/e 7th March 2010

Leeds Carnegie 101 Wellingborough Phoenix 56

Nottingham Wildcats 95 Wellingborough Phoenix 28

Phoenix ladies endured a tough weekend as they faced two of the top sides of the season going down on Saturday at Leeds and on Sunday in Nottingham.

Of the two performances Saturday against Leeds was the most encouraging, as the Wellingborough side continued to show some of the recent improvements albeit against a tough side. Jordan Elliott-King led the Phoenix resistance with 14 points with support from Selina Vernal and Vicky Hinds who both added 10 each, but they were outdone by a fine team performance from a Leeds side who went fourth in the table after the win.

Nottingham proved a game too far, as the Wellingborough side struggled from the outset, showing that two games against teams of this calibre may not yet be within their compass, as Nottingham surged to third in Division One. Crystal Sterling top scored for Phoenix with 10 points, Vernal added a further 8 in the second heavy defeat of the weekend.

Wellingborough are back in action next weekend at Weavers on Sunday 14th March at 5pm when last seasons Div 2 rivals Brixton Topcats are the visitors, Phoenix held the edge in the league games winning home and way, but Brixton defeated Phoenix in both the National trophy final as well as the agonising last second win in the Division 2 championship final.

 

HATTERS CLOSE IN ON TITLE WITH DOUBLE WIN WEEKEND

UWIC Archers 64 City Of Sheffield Hatters 79

Hatters took to the road to play UWIC Archers on Saturday, in the game seen by many as the title decider. UWIC held the top of the table at the start of place but had played two games more than Hatters. Sheffield were looking to steal the top spot with this long awaited and much anticipated fixture.

The home side started the game off strongly with the support of a packed sports hall of lively supporters. They took an early 12-5 lead with Sheffield not remaining disciplined on outside shooters letting Collins lead her team with a couple of treys early on. Offensively, Sheffield weren’t taking the best options and struggling against Archers “hands on” pressure defence.

Then Hatters captain Katie Crowley entered the game and began to turn things around for the visitors. She demonstrated great leadership as well as going hard against UWIC’s defence and some smart team play helped Hatter’s to close the gap. Sheffield seemed more comfortable as they took the lead at the end of the first 18-23.

The second quarter continued in a similar way to the end of the 1st with a fast paced game from both teams and UWIC continued to change up their defence, which at times threw Hatters, but not enough for them to take the lead. Some strong offensive play from Sheffield saw them pull away in the closing stages of the first half taking a 13 point lead into the half time interval. This gave Vanessa Ellis’s side a psychological boost to Sheffield going into the second half.

Archers knew that they needed to close the gap early on in the 3rd if they wanted to turn the game around. Some quick transition play from the home team closed the lead to 6 points within moments. A much needed Ellis’ time-out followed to get composure and Sheffield then regained control of the game. Oaddams made some nice offensive rebounds to get the momentum going back in Sheffield’s favour. UWIC remained in the game with offensive rebounds as Sheffield allowed them several chances each time down the floor making the game harder work. As a result, UWIC were still in the game at the end of the 3rd quarter trailing by just 7, 48-55.

Sheffield had an outstanding 4th quarter performance led in scoring by Mason who made some strong offensive baskets to extend the lead. Meanwhile, Avery and Hoffman continued to look strong for the Archer’s but they couldn’t do enough to get back into the game. UWIC’s fight back was all but ended when Collins, Butters and Spasowska all fouled out and with Hoffman struggled to stay on court with 4 fouls, Hatters were able to run out the clock..

Sheffield sustained their intensity of play until the final buzzer to take the win, the points and UWIC’s place at the top of the table with a final score of 64-79.

Top scorers: Oaddams 20, Mason 18, Crowley 13

 

City Of Sheffield Hatters 85 Team Northumbria 44

Twenty four hours after their win in Wales, Hatters returned to action at All Saints when they entertained fifth place Team Northumbria.

Hatters began strongly in a free scoring first quarter, and at the first break, the home side led 24-13.

With Hatters in determined mood, the visitors knew they would have to work hard to get back into the game. Despite their efforts, Hatters held them at bay and by half time, Vanessa Ellis’s side had extended the lead to 41-22.
Hatters continued to keep the upper hand in the third, stretching their lead to 60-33. With the game over as a contest, Hatters closed out the game decisively, adding 25 fourth quarter points to win 85-44.

Top Scorers: Watkins 18, Oaddams 14, Crowley 13.

The win puts Hatters in pole position and with just three games left, Vanessa Ellis’s side are closing in on the title.

W/e 28th February 2010

City of Sheffield Hatters 98 London Mets 36

Hatters began the game looking to keep the pressure on league leaders UWIC Archers. Vanessa Ellis’s side started the weekend in second place in the table, playing catch up after Archers double victory last weekend.

The first period was a much closer period than many expected with the visitors restricting Hatters to an eight point lead at the first break. Any suggestions of a close match where, however, dispelled when Hatters dominated the second period. Mets were restricted to just one point with Hatters adding 22 to lead 44-15 at half time.

Hatters continued to dominate throughout the second half, winning the third period 28-11 and the fourth 26-10 to wrap up the game 98-36.

Hatters top scorers: H. Naylor 26, R. Mason 17, K. Crowley 17.

 

Phoenix go down fighting

Wellingborough Phoenix 74 Team Northumbria 91

Phoenix put in a battling display on Sunday but never recovered from a slow start to go down by 17 points to Team Northumbria. Wellingborough never found an answer to Northumbria’s American Ta’Yani Clark who led all scorers with 30 points.

It was the visitors who jumped out into a 14-4 lead early on as Clark knocked in 11 to set Northumbria on their way, and they followed this up with a 10-2 burst on their way to a 32-16 lead after the first quarter, only Vicky Hinds offered much resistance with 6 points.

The second period was a closer affair, but it was Northumbria with Laura Calder coming to the fore with 14 points who held the edge and stretched their lead to 21 points at the half time break despite 6 points each from Naomi Sterling and Jordan Elliott-King for the home side.

Northumbria opened the second half well to prevent any ideas of a famous recovery as they extended their advantage to 26 points before Phoenix finished the period the stronger with Finnish student Meriem Eerikinharju contributing 9 points in the quarter, but still went into the final period trailing 74-51.

Again the visitors opened the quarter the stronger, opening their lead to 29 points early on, but to their great credit Phoenix did not capitulate, but put in a battling fourth period with Eerikinharju chipped in with another eight points in a 21-9 run to close the game in another encouraging display from the Wellingborough squad.

Eerikinharju top scored for Phoenix with 18 points in total, Sterling and Hinds both added 13 with Hinds also adding 9 rebounds, Elliott-King chipped in with 11 in support, but Phoenix couldn’t contain Clarke who ended up with 30 points as well as 13 rebounds, and she was ably supported by Calder who ended with 24 points.

Coach Barry Powell was again upbeat after the performance “we are definitely improving with every game, it would have been a different game if we could have kept it close early on, but we were always trying to come from too far behind and couldn’t find enough answers to Clark and Calder to put Northumbria under pressure late in the game.”

W/e 21st February 2010

Phoenix Ladies record win at last

Wellingborough Phoenix 70 Birmingham A’s 68

It was a long time coming, but Wellingborough ladies squad finally enjoyed their first win since last March when they beat Birmingham on their way to last season’s Division Two play-off final and took themselves off the bottom of Division One.

It marked the highlight of the season so far as Phoenix managed to win the battle of the winless teams in a close game two well matched sides shared 16 lead changes and the score was tied 10 times in a game that went down to the final seconds.

Phoenix eventually had the better of the first period after the recovered from the visitors jumping out to a 7-2 lead early on, but Crystal Sterling scored the first eight points for Wellingborough as they went in front before sister Naomi Sterling took over with eight points of her own as the home side took a 25-20 lead into the second quarter.

Birmingham were not to be outdone as they responded well to going behind as they closed the half time difference to a single point with Phoenix holding a 39-38 advantage at the break after a late 3-pointer from Meriem Eerikinharju.

The third quarter was a tense defence dominated quarter and it was Birmingham who held the edge as Wellingborough, who had looked after the ball very in the first half committing only 6 turnovers, started to fall into some old habits as the y allowed the visitors to edge into a 50-48 lead going into the crucial final period.

The final period opened with Birmingham looking like they had broken the Wellingborough spirit as the edged their lead up to six points with 3 minutes remaining, but the Sterling twins had other ideas as they combined for eight points assisted by back to back baskets from Jordan Elliott-King that levelled the scores going into the final minute, a basket from Eerikinharju put Wellingborough two in front, before a foul shot from Gemma Salmon for the visitors closed the gap to one as the clock counted down, it was a final free throw from Naomi Sterling with 11 seconds to go that clinched the two point margin as Birmingham missed a shot that would have taken the game to overtime as the final buzzer sounded.

A breathless coach Barry Powell said afterwards “this win felt every bit as good as every win last year, it was a big step for us, and a reward for all the hard work we have put in as a team to try to compete in this league.”

Crystal Sterling top scored with 18 points, who added 10 rebounds and 4 assists in an impressive display against her former club, sister Naomi Sterling added 13 points and Wellingborough had three players chipping in with 9 points, Imi Cox, Elliott-King and Eerikinharju rounding off a fine all round team performance.

Phoenix came back to earth with a bump when they followed up the win against Birmingham on Saturday when a depleted squad travelled to Wales and lost heavily to championship challengers UWIC Archers 138-36.

W/e 14th February 2010

City Of Sheffield Hatters 85 Nottingham Wildcats 73

In the top of the table clash at All Saints, Hatters met Wildcats for the third time this season. Wildcats arrived in Sheffield as the only team to beat Vanessa Ellis’s side this season whilst Hatters had secured victory in the National Cup Final contest between the two sides two weeks ago.

With Wildcats looking to reduce Hatters lead at the top of the table, it was the visitors who started the game sharper, winning the early exchanges. Sheffield struggled to maintain their composure and discipline on defence leaving shooters open and not boxing out and this gave Nottingham opportunities which they took full advantage of. At the end of the first, the visitors held a deserved three point lead with the score line at 16-19.

The game continued in a similar manner in a more physical and faster paced second quarter. With the game turning scrappy, which did not suit the Hatter’s style of play, the visitors comfortably held on to their lead to go into the half time break leading 35-39.

Whatever coach Ellis said at half time had the desired effect on her Hatters side. The league leaders came out in the second half fighting, stepping up their defensive intensity and getting the better of the physical encounters. Hatters fight back was led by GB international Ros Mason who returned to the game in the second half after suffering a cut eye before the interval. Two key steals from Helen Naylor, in the Wildcats half of the court, helped to take Hatters into the lead in the third quarter which ended with the hosts leading 57-52.

In the opening encounters of the final quarter, Hatters were able to further extend their lead. With four minutes remaining in the game Hatters led by ten and Wildcats put on a defensive full court press. Sheffield remained calm and broke it with ease to maintain their lead in the closing stages of the game and record a 85-73 victory.

Top scorers:

Hatters - Mason 27, H Naylor 17, Oaddams 16.

Wildcats – Flood 20, Wrice 19, Prior 12.

 

W/e 7th February 2010

Sevenoaks Suns 45 City of Sheffield Hatters 63

Hatters made the long journey to Sevenoaks and returned to South Yorkshire with the points following a hard fought win. The two sides were well matched throughout the first quarter and after ten minutes the scores were locked at 12-12. With Hatters struggling to get into their rhythm, the home side took full advantage in the second quarter and led at half time 28-22.

Any thoughts of an upset were quickly dispelled as Hatters found their form in the third quarter. Limiting the hosts to just 8 third quarter points whilst adding 26 at the other end, Hatters began the final quarter leading 48-36.

Hatters were now in control and extended the margin further in the final quarter to run out 63-45 winners.

The win kept Hatters in top spot in Women’s National League Division One, two points ahead of nearest rivals UWIC Archers who beat Leeds Carnegie. Next Saturday, Hatters play host to Nottingham Wildcats, who will be looking to avenge their recent Cup Final defeat at the hands of Vanessa Ellis’s side. Tip off at All Saints is 4.30pm.

W/e 31st January 2010

Brave effort in vain

Team Northumbria 113 Wellingborough Phoenix 67

A depleted Phoenix ladies squad put in a fighting and at times impressive display in Newcastle on Saturday with their best offensive performance of the season to date, and if they had been able to field their strongest squad, Northumbria would have had to face more serious questions.

The first quarter did not follow the recent pattern, it was refreshing to see Wellingborough start the game with much better intensity, and as such not be chasing the game from early on. In fact it was the visitors who held a slight edge for much of the first period with Jordan Elliott-King getting into her stride with 7 quick points, but a mad 30 second period allowed the home side to edge to a 26-18 advantage.

In the second quarter the home side began to find their shooting range and really stretched the Wellingborough defence with help from 13 points from Zoe Vickers and 8 from former Phoenix player Katrin Hulme as they opened a convincing 56-27 half time lead, just before the break the Phoenix injury jinx struck again, as with 1:35 remaining in the half Wellingborough’s El Morris-Mullins successfully drew a charging foul, but crashed to the floor, and following a lengthy stoppage, that extended half time to nearly 30 minutes she had to be taken to hospital with suspected concussion.

The second half resumed in muted fashion after the incident, but the Phoenix squad continued to play some effective basketball, only allowing the home side to extend the lead to 70-44 after three periods with Imogen Cox finding her range with consecutive 3-pointers.

The final quarter was a story of both teams trading baskets, but with Phoenix starting to feel the effects of having to travel with such a depleted squad the home side ran out comfortable winners 113-67.

The Wellingborough side travelled to Newcastle General hospital to hear the excellent news that following a CT scan Morris-Mullins was given the all clear and allowed to travel home with the rest of her team mates.

Elliott-King top scored with 19 points, Vicky Hinds chipped in with 14 points as well as pulling down 9 rebounds, Selina Vernal added 13, Cox 12 and Crystal Sterling 9 in a very encouraging performance from the Phoenix squad. Former team mate Hulme top scored for the home side with 22, Vickers finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds and 6 assists in a fine all round display.

Coach Barry Powell was in good spirits after the game “obviously our first concern was the health of El, and we are all delighted she was given the all clear, and apart from a bad headache she was in good spirits on the journey home. From a playing perspective, it was a very encouraging performance, we knew we’d be up against it with such a depleted squad today, but the girls applied themselves terrifically well. We’ve some big games coming up against the teams around us, and if we put in performances like this I am confident we can secure two or three wins to pull us clear of the bottom of the table.”

W/e 24th January 2010

City of Sheffield Hatters 101 Birmingham A’s 42

Hatters maintained their lead at the top of Division One with an emphatic win over Birmingham A’s at All Saints on Saturday.

The first quarter was closely contested with the visitors not giving an inch and keeping the league leaders within three points after ten minutes of play.

Birmingham had taken the early lead in the 1st quarter, to lead 8-4 after four minutes. Birmingham took advantage of Sheffield’s poor defence by running the floor and cutting through the key to make easy, sometimes uncontested lay-ups. As well as looking poor on defence, Hatters shots were failing to drop although they steadily got back on terms. Coach Ellis called a time-out at 8-8 to try and help the team step up defensive intensity with emphasis on off the ball positioning to bump cuts and get hands in the passing lane. At this point the momentum began to change as Sheffield secured a couple of fast breaks and the first quarter ended 13-10.

The second quarter saw Hatters begin to get into their rhythm and Vanessa Ellis’s side started to stretch their lead. Sheffield’s improved offensive success continued and they got easy options off breaks in particular, but still had little success in the half-court against Birmingham’s zone. Sheffield were still failing to put the visitors under pressure and were not taking advantages of their weaknesses. Despite this, Hatters had extended their lead to 38-26 by the half.

The second half proved to be one-way traffic with Hatters dominating against a team yet to register a top flight victory.

Hatters came out in the third quarter playing much better team defence. This forced Birmingham to work hard to make any shooting opportunities and restricted the visitors to six third quarter points. The success on defence transferred into the offence as the team improved co-ordination on set plays as well as running the floor after forced errors. Hatters added 29 third quarter points to lead 67-32 going into the final period.

With the contest over, Sheffield maintained the intensity, keeping A’s scoring to a minimum whilst further extending their lead. Hatters piled on 34 further points in the final ten minutes to close out the game with a 100-42 score line.

Hatters leading scorers: Helen Naylor 27, Shanna Oaddams 26, Ros Mason 23

The win keeps Hatters at the top of the table and maintains their lead over their closest rivals UWIC Archers and Leeds Carnegie.

W/e 17th January 2010

City Of Sheffield Hatters 78-53 Brixton Topcats

Hatters began 2010 where they left off in 2009 to stay top of National League Division One.

In their first game back after an extended Christmas break, Hatters hosted another Brixton Topcats in what turned out to be a hard fought physical game. Sheffield started the game well taking the lead early but looked a little scrappy at times, most likely due to the months rest. Brixton began the game at a great pace; lead by Brown, who pushed the ball well, feeding the ball to numerous players who looked strong on the drive. Fortunately they were pretty well contained by Hatter’s defence, in particular Sarah Taylor who contained the guard well. Sheffield were able to make steals and then convert well on the primary and secondary break, controlled by Lisa Hutchinson, and the first quarter ended 19-5 to the hosts.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Brixton began to get people free from screens as well as cuts into the lane for better options. Also on the defensive end, Sheffield stopped boxing out the Topcats who were too athletic to try and out-rebound resulting in second chance put backs for the visitors.

Offensively, Sheffield continued to look strong and were able to outscore Topcats in a lively second quarter to head into the half time break leading 37-15.

Sheffield composed themselves for the beginning of the second half. They continued to run the fast break, but then also played with more structure through the use of set plays in the half court.

Despite improved defence, Hatters’ were still neglecting to box out and so Brixton remained strong on the boards. Brixton continued to look for 1-on-1 chances, the most successful of whom was Ofomata who lead her team in scoring. With the teams trading baskets throughout the period, the score going into the final period was 62-40.

Hatters came out running in the 4th, securing several quick baskets on the break. Brixton came out to prove they weren’t taking an easy defeat and were much more physical defensively which seemed to limit Sheffield’s scoring. Sheffield appeared to relax a little on defence; not getting in passing lanes and allowing Brixton to shoot the ball. This was reflected in another close quarter which the hosts edged 16-13 to give a final score at 78-53.

Top scorers: H Naylor 25, S Oaddams 12, A Watkins 11.

 

Wellingborough Phoenix vs. Sheffield Hatters 32-99

Hatters started out well, getting good fast breaks and passing well as a team. They also restricted Wellingborough’s offence through good on the ball defence. Back came Phoenix and with Hatters made several turnovers in a row, dropping their concentration levels slightly, the hosts were able to get a foot hold in the game. Hatters then stepped it up and increased the intensity causing Phoenix’s defence to struggle as they went into foul trouble after just 5 minutes sending several players to the foul line. With Hatters in charge the quarter ended with the visitors 27-10 ahead.

The second quarter continued in the same way with Sheffield dominating the home side on offence although they allowed Phoenix to take several offensive rebounds. This wasn’t enough to prevent Vanessa Ellis’s side from increasing their lead in the second quarter and Hatters headed to the lockers leading 52-25.

Sheffield’s second half focus was on raising their defensive intensity on the ball to try and limit the opposition’s scoring. Both teams became more physical on the ball creating a lot more contact and hustle plays leading to steals for Sheffield. Hatters made the most of this and extended their lead in the third quarter to 46 points, heading into the final ten minutes 78-32 ahead.

Hatter’s defence stepped up another gear in the final quarter as they prevented Phoenix from scoring throughout the period. With the home side beaten, Hatters were able to execute offences in the half court to continue their scoring. In particular, Naylor, Oaddams and Mason contributed nice moves to basket while Hutchinson and Taylor each threw 7 assists and worked well pressuring the ball.

Sheffield were deadly from the free throw line with a final team percentage of 78 and this contributed to a good team performance.

At the final buzzer it was the league leaders who returned north with the points following a 99-32 win.

Top scorers: Naylor 24, Oaddams 20, Mason 17

 

W/e 20th December 2009

City Of Sheffield Hatters 99 Leeds Carnegie 83

City of Sheffield Hatters finished their 2009 fixtures in style, moving to the top of Women’s National League Division One after a victory in the white rose derby against Leeds Carnegie.

Leeds arrived in South Yorkshire leading the table and defending an unbeaten league record. With the position at the top of the table at stake, both teams were equally as determined to come away with the win!

The first quarter proved to be an extremely tight one as both teams displayed excellent basketball in spells; Hatter’s took the first lead early, going 10 points up but then allowed Leeds to respond.  Whilst Hatter’s had the lead for the majority of the first with the teams traded basket, Carnegie were a constant threat. Both teams displayed great desire and the game was played at a very high tempo. Hatters went into the first break leading 20-19, and it looked to be a question of who could maintain this intensity for the full 40minutes.

The 2nd quarter saw Hatter’s defence improve as they took Leeds out of their comfort zone causing turnovers which Hatter’s capitalised upon either by quick baskets or being sent to the line. Leeds, however refused to let the home side get the upper hand and the score remained close in the early exchanges.

Hatter’s regained focus towards the end of the second period and extended their lead. However, back came Leeds again to bring the game back to within 6 points at the half with Hatters leading 51-45.

In the third quarter, after the lead being reduced to 4 points Sheffield began to be more successful in converting their chances. Continued defensive pressure from Sheffield kept the momentum going in the home side’s favour and they suddenly found they had no problem scoring against the Leeds’ zone. The game entered the final period with Sheffield leading 74-59.

Not much changed in the final quarter as both teams continued to fight hard as the teams exchanged baskets with neither team letting much up.  Sheffield came away the winning side 99-83 and go into the new year as league leaders.

Hatters Top Scorers: Mason 26, H Naylor 20, Oaddams 18

 

Phoenix Ladies rue missed opportunity

Wellingborough Phoenix  45          Barking Abbey           59

Phoenix missed out on an excellent chance to record their first win of the season on Sunday at Weavers Leisure Centre, when they faced an under strength Barking Abbey side in their final Division One game before Christmas. It places even greater significance on their home game on 10th January when Birmingham, the only other side without a win, are the visitors.

Phoenix opened the game, playing solid defence and held a 2-1 lead after 3 and a half minutes when there was a long stoppage due to an injury to Barking skipper Christina Gaskin, who eventually went to hospital for a check up after briefly passing out after a 3-player collision.

The long break allowed the visitors to re-group and they went on a 8-0 run over seven minutes at Wellingborough struggled to refocus after the stoppage, they did finish the period better closing the gap to 11-7 after the first quarter.

As the second quarter went on it became clear that Wellingborough were continually struggling against the height of the Barking side as they were consistently allowing the visitors to dominate the rebounding at the Phoenix end allowing Barking too many second and third shot options, despite their perimeter defence showing more signs of improvement. Every time Wellingborough managed to score, they could not restrict Barking from keeping their noses in front, and the went into the latter stages of the half trailing by 11 points.

But a late 3-pointer from Naomi Sterling to close the half, leaving Phoenix trailing 27-19 at the break, and another one early in the third quarter stimulated an eight point run from the home side to bring the deficit to just three points, but in a period of play with both sides struggling offensively it was Wellingborough who were being called for too many fouls allowing Barking to steadily increase their lead through the quarter fro the free throw line, eventually re-establishing a double digit lead to go into the final period leading 38-28.

In the highest scoring quarter of the game Wellingborough tried valiantly to get back into the game without ever being able to gain any momentum that would have seen them close the score to put the visitors under pressure down the stretch as Barking led by as many as eighteen points before eventually taking a 59-45 victory back to London.

Naomi Sterling led the Phoenix scorers with 12 points and also collected 7 rebounds, debutant Hannah Scott-Evans added 9 points and Crystal Sterling chipped in with 8 points and 7 rebounds; however Izla Holsteina had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Barking with Jamila Thompson 14 points and Ella Clark 10 points leading the support.

Coach Barry Powell was disappointed afterwards “we missed a chance today, we failed to deal with their length, and lost the game in the rebound department. If we had played anywhere near our potential today this is game that we could have taken to give everyone a lift going into the Christmas break. We will re-group and tackle the New Year in positive fashion.”

W/e 13th December 2009

Team Northumbria 60 City Of Sheffield Hatters 81

Hatters travelled to Northumbria looking to continue their recent run of form and boosted by the return to Sheffield of GB International Roz Mason who returned to the Hatters last week.

Team Northumbria began the game well, lead by Clark who made several long shots to start of the game’s scoring. However, Sarah Taylor then stepped up the defensive intensity to make Clark’s shots much more difficult. This unfortunately lead to Taylor picking up a few quick fouls and having to be subbed out of the game despite being so effective on court. The opening quarter remained tight throughout with Hatters going into the first break 24-22 ahead.

Hatters began to extend their lead with Helen Naylor and Mason proving to be strong offensive threats in the opening few minutes. Hatters quickly increased their lead to 39-26, and then exchanged baskets with the hosts for the rest of the half to head to the lockers 46-33 ahead.

Hatters started the 3rd quarter with a number of unforced turnovers and they were lucky not to get punished by a Northumbria team looking to get back into the game. Hatters kept their lead in double figures throughout the period despite the hosts change to zone defence which put further pressure on Vanessa Ellis’s side.

In the final period, Sheffield made improvements to their team play at both ends of the floor. They executed offences more effectively as well as working hard on pressure defence. As a result, they kept Northumbria to just 10points in the quarter adding more of their own to close out the game 81-60.

Top Scorers:  H Naylor 21, Taylor 15, Oaddams 15.

W/e 6th December 2009

City Of Sheffield Hatters 69 UWIC Archers 64

In the game between last season’s top two, City of Sheffield Hatters started the game strongly taking with offensive movement and quick passing resulting in an early lead.  UWIC struggled to respond and coach Jennings called a quick time out to try and compose his team.

Sheffield maintained their form throughout the first quarter, which ended 20-10 to Vanessa Ellis’s side.

The second quarter was much lower scoring, as both teams adapted to one another’s style of play and began to cancel each other out. UWIC gained the upper hand and stopped Hatters scoring for the first four minutes before a Hatter’s time-out to gain composure against the zone defence was made. Hatter’s passing improved but Archer’s won the 2nd quarter 11-7, leaving a half time score of 27-21 to Sheffield.

UWIC remained in their zone in the third quarter, but Sheffield gave them little chance to set up on defence as they ran the floor getting quick and easy baskets. Similarly, UWIC began to take advantage of any poor passes made by the Sheffield, getting some easy lay-ups. The 3rd quarter was basket for basket between the sides. Sarah Naylor made her return back from injury with some style, as she added two three’s to the scoreboard against the zone. Meanwhile her sister Helen was leading all scorers as she shot over the zone and penetrated into the lane.

Having made no headway in the third, coach Jennings put up a trapping 1-2-2  zone press which got them four quick points on steals as Hatters were stunned. However, Hatters, in particular Hutchinson, then gained back some control as they passed out of the zone. UWIC managed to find weaknesses in the Hatter’s defensive rotation and began to hit some shots of their own.  

With Hatters still holding the lead as time began to run out, Archers had to foul in order to stop play but Hatters made all their free throws to maintain their lead. Possession was more important to the home-side as they successfully ran out the clock to give a final score after an exciting game of Hatters 69 Archers 64.

Top Scorers: H Naylor 22, S Naylor 9, L Hutchinson 9.

The result keeps Hatters second in the division just behind the still unbeaten Leeds Carnegie.

W/e 29th November 2009

London Mets 52 City Of Sheffield Hatters 100

City of Sheffield Hatters secures a good victory in London on Saturday. Despite the final score, the early exchanges suggested it could be anyone’s game.

London Mets came out strong with lots of determination and intensity and looked the more dominant team. Mets made the most of their chances while at the other end of the court, Sheffield couldn’t convert their chances. After 4 minutes of the game, Hatters trailed 7-0.

After coach Ellis called a time-out, Sheffield stepped up their defence and upped their tempo on offence, getting much quicker movement and so gaining easy scoring opportunities. By the end of the quarter, the visitors had edged into a 15-14 lead.

Hatters continued to increase their lead in the early stages of the second quarter and had soon built a good lead. His didn’t last and Hatters found themselves in another bad spell, where they gave up consecutive turnovers as well as losing composure on defence. The lead fell to just 2 at the half, 32-34.

The second half proved much better for Hatters as London’s guards struggled with the defensive pressure, losing the ball on a number of occasions giving Sheffield easy buckets. Sheffield’s offence also improved and by the end of the third quarter the visitors had stretched their lead to 66-45.

Despite Met’s attempts to stay in the game, the home side could not cope offensively, getting very few convertible chances in the finl quarter, due to great on the ball pressure.

Hatters made the most of their dominance to run out comfortable 100-52 winners.

Hatters top scorers: H. Naylor 28, Oaddams 13, Hutchinson 11.

 

W/e 22nd November 2009

City of Sheffield Hatters 73 London Heathrow Acers 40

Hatters bounced back from the defeat at Nottingham last weekend, with a comfortable victory over London Heathrow Acers. With Hatters dominating from the start, they controlled a sometimes physical opening period to lead 15-2 at the first break.

Hatters failed to start the second period as they had finished the first, allowing Acers

To go on a 14-0 run, lead by ex-Hatter Claire Matham and Lucimara Da Silva. After a wisely taken time out from Coach Ellis, Hatters got back their composure, slowing down their opponents and getting into their stride offensively. By half time the hosts had increased their lead to 40-19.

Hatters struggled again at the start of the third, with unforced errors handing the impetus to the visitors. Once again Hatters rallied, improving their passing against the zone and were able to take the quarter by a single point, leading by 50-28 at the three quarter mark.

In the final quarter, Acers reverted to their man defence and Hatters once again took control of the game, settling quickly into their stride. With better defence they were able to easily close out the game 73-40.

Shanna Oaddams top scored for Hatters with 19 points, with Milly Watkins adding 18 and Lisa Hutchinson 17.

 

W/e 15th November 2009

Nottingham Wildcats 65 City of Sheffield Hatters 61

City of Sheffield Hatters slumped to their first loss of the season following a hard fought game against a Nottingham Wildcats side that deserved their victory for their performance on the day.

In the early stages, Hatters many chances to take the lead but failed to turn opportunities into points. Nottingham were soon into their stride with Pass and Wrice both making tough shots against a Hatters defence who looked less sharp than usual.

Oaddams proved herself dominant early in the game, getting looks inside, drawing fouls and crashing the boards. However, Sheffield made a lot of unforced turnovers, which in turn was impacting on the team’s confidence.

By the end of the second period, Sheffield found themselves 36-26 down and were looking to make changes during half time.

Hatters started the second half better, executing offences well drawing fouls under the basket.  Unfortunately, Hatters failure to score the free throws awarded ultimately cost them the game.  Meanwhile, Sheffield seemed reluctant to play with the same physicality as the Wildcats at the other end of the floor.

Despite the missed 3rd quarter chances, Hatters won it by 6, leaving them just 4 points down going into the final period. The 4th quarter saw a period when baskets were exchanged with Hatters dropping further behind initially before tying the game with just 2 minutes remaining. By this point, however, Camp and Oaddams had both fouled out leaving Hatters coach Vanessa Ellis few options, particularly as Katie Crowley had been added to the long injured list during week.

Much to Sheffield’s disappointment, they didn’t put away chances when it mattered during the closing stages and the hosts were able to close out the game with a four point victory.

The loss cost Hatters their position at the top of Division One and leaves the reigning champions with much food for thought before London Heathrow Acers arrive in South Yorkshire next weekend.

Top scorers:  Naylor 17, Oaddams 17, Hutchinson 14.

 

Signs that Phoenix Ladies are making progress

Wellingborough Phoenix  60          London Heathrow Acers       95        

Phoenix women’s squad showed this weekend signs that they are finally starting to get acclimatised to the level of play required in Division One since their promotion. It was a shame in one way that the performances of the weekend were not reversed, as the battling display put in on Sunday would surely have been enough to defeat the London Met side that beat Phoenix 75-38 in London on Saturday. The performance on Saturday however did show some signs of improvement from previous displays.

Phoenix suffered another injury blow when Vicky Hinds was ruled out of Sunday’s clash with a leg muscle injury sustained the previous day, but it did nothing but spur the Phoenix squad on. 

Wellingborough started the game looking more confident than they have all year, and took the lead when Crystal Sterling scored an early 2 points, before the visitors got their noses in front; but rather than crumble as they had in previous games, they didn’t  allow Heathrow to get away, Phoenix managed to keep the score line tight, and when Imogen Cox sent in a 3-pointer with 2:47 to go in the period, Wellingborough trailed 13-15 but the Londoners then started to benefit from some inconsistent refereeing decisions, allowing them to put in a 9-0 run, mainly from foul shots, but a late 3-pointer from Meriem Eerikinharju closed the gap to eight as Phoenix went into the break trailing 24-16.

Wellingborough suffered another bout of the scoring blues early in the second period with only a 3 point play from Sterling to show for almost seven minutes of play, during which time the Acers stretched their lead to 19 points. However Phoenix showed more of the new found steel and battled back inspired by Eerikinharju who scored 9 points in a 12-4 run in three minutes that brought the home side back into contention closing the gap to 11 points at one stage, and eventually going into the half time interval trailing 31-44. Although during that spell the Finnish player also collected her fourth foul putting her in a precarious position for the second half.

Phoenix rested Eerikinharju at the start of the second half to try to preserve her for later in the game, but the offence dried up immediately, as Heathrow opened the period with a 9-0 run, led by seven points from Rebecca Lear. So coach Barry Powell had no choice but to put Eerikinharju back into the game, she had an immediate impact sending in her third 3-pointer of the game, but was also charged with a soft and final foul, sending her back to the bench with 17 points to her name in just 14 minutes. The result was that the visitors ran in another 8-0 run to take the game away from Phoenix despite an inspired spell from new acquisition Selina Vernal who had a strong end to the third period with 9 quick points and 2 steals that lit up the display as Wellingborough went into the final period trailing 46-74.

With the result not in doubt during the final quarter, Phoenix were left to play for pride, and that they did, still showing many positive signs of improvement, Crystal Sterling continued to regain her touch around the basket with some nice moves as she helped herself to eight points in the final period with the visitors eventually running out 95-60 winners.

Sterling top scored with 20 points, and also added 10 rebounds, Eerikinharju had 17, and Vernal added 11 in support for Wellingborough, but Phoenix didn’t really have an answer to Rebecca Lear who led all scorers with 25 points for the visitors as well as 14 rebounds and 6 assists, Lucimara Da Silva added a further 18 points.

Coach Barry Powell was upbeat after the loss “today we showed some significant progress, we started to click offensively, an area which has given us so many problems this season so far; we now need to tighten our defence to bring that under control and we can start to look forward to brighter days ahead.”

W/e 8th November 2009

City of Sheffield Hatters 64 Sevenoaks Suns 41

Hatters continued their perfect start to the campaign with a fourth successive league victory at All Saints.

Sevenoaks arrived in Sheffield sitting third in the table with a tem full of up and coming talent supported by the experienced Lewis and Deng.

With Hatters roster reduced by injury, they were unable to settle into their game and struggled to finish attempts on basket whilst failing to fully contain the visitors. Sevenoaks were encouraged by this and matched Hatters throughout the first and at the end of the first quarter the scores were tied at 11-11.

Things changed in the second quarter with Hatters increasing the intensity of their defence which limited Suns to just four second quarter points. Hatters, meanwhile were getting into their stride offensively and piled on the point from secondary breaks as they continually pushed the ball up court. With the home side now dominant, they headed to the lockers with a 29-15 half time lead.

Back came Sevenoaks in the third, facing the home side with a zone defence with shook Hatters side from their rhythm and it took a few harsh words from Coach Ellis to turn things around. With Lisa Hutchinson controlling Hatters offence, the champions were able to extend their lead slightly, although several three pointers from Lewis kept the visitors in contention and at the end of the third the score was 44-27 to Hatters.

Sevenoaks continued to use the zone in the final quarter and, with Hatters having to work hard to increase their lead, the visitors stayed in contention during the early part of the quarter. Hatters were on the wrong side of several decisions but were not going to let this get in the way of a fourth successive victory and extended their lead in the latter part of the quarter and closed out the game with a 64-41 victory.

Hatters top scorers:  Helen Naylor 17, Shanna Oaddams 16 and Lisa Hutchinson 12.

 

W/e 1st November 2009

Barking Abbey 50 City of Sheffield Hatters 83

Hatters stretched their unbeaten run to three with a solid performance against Barking Abbey in Essex on Sunday. Hatters had to overcome a first quarter deficit after the home side raced into a 16-12 lead at the break. From that point on, Hatters were on top and by half time, Vanessa Ellis’ side led by 21 points. Any thoughts of a Barking revival were quickly dispelled as Hatters continued to stretch their lead throughout the second half to record a 83-50 win.

Hatters top scorers: Emma Camp 23, Shanna Oaddams 18, Sarah Naylor 18.

The victory keeps Hatters at the top of Division One, level on points with last season’s runners up UWIC Archers and next weeks visitors to All Saints, Sevenoaks Suns. All three sides have maximum points from three victories with Hatters topping the table on points difference.

W/e 25th October 2009

Wellingborough can’t find shooting touch

Wellingborough Phoenix  33          Sevenoaks Suns         71

After last weeks opening day defeat in Sheffield, Phoenix hoped for better against Sevenoaks Suns at Weavers on Sunday. It was a much improved performance from the restructured Wellingborough squad, and there were many positives to be drawn from this defeat, which leaves the Suns up to third place and remaining unbeaten this season.

Neither side took the initiative early, the score was 7-4 half way through the first period, as Wellingborough’s defence showed much more resilience than last week, in addition this week Phoenix were creating good shooting opportunities without being able to make the shots, and Sevenoaks punished Wellingborough’s generosity as they went on a 10-0 run on their way to a 20-5 first quarter lead with 8 points from Katie Harris.

Two more 10-0 runs during the second period led by 9 points from 42 year veteran old Kris Lewis helped Sevenoaks to a 42-14 half time lead, but there were signs that Phoenix were improving, Meriem Eerikinharju found her touch with four points as the home side were still managing to find their way to good areas, but again the shots failed to drop on too many occasions to stay in contention. In addition it was the little things that weren’t going right either, sloppy passes led to too many turnovers, giving the visitors some easy looks at the basket.

After some soul searching at half time Wellingborough came out for the second half with reinvigorated defensive intensity, and put in the best quarter of the difficult start to the season so far, holding Sevenoaks to 14 points while scoring double figures for the first time themselves, with Stephanie Nicolas scoring four. But Phoenix still trailed 56-24 after the third period.

Charlene Field scored 5 early points in the final quarter, but a 9-2 run from Sevenoaks sealed the 71-33 victory for the visitors as they ran out comfortable winners.

Field top scored for Wellingborough with 8 points, Eerikinharju added 7 as well as 8 rebounds, Nicolas also had 7 points and 6 rebounds, Crystal Sterling and Vicky Hinds and Hannah Smith had strong rebounding games with 10, 8 and 7 respectively but it was ultimately the teams 20% shooting percentage that was the telling statistic of the game.

Coach Barry Powell was upbeat after the defeat “we are looking for signs of improvement and today there were some green shoots there, we created a lot more opportunities than last weekend, but the ball didn’t seem to want to drop for us, but there will be days when it will as we have some talented shooters in the squad. We increased our defensive strength and as the team get adjusted to the Division 1 level, I am sure we can raise that bar a few notches further as well as the season goes on.”

 

Birmingham A’s 23 City of Sheffield Hatters 96

City of Sheffield Hatters took to the road on Saturday, as they began their away campaign for the 2009-2010 season. First stop was Birmingham where they came up against newly promoted Birmingham A’s.  Hatters demonstrated high levels of intensity on defence and pressure from Lisa Hutchinson and Sarah Taylor, leading from the front, soon helped Hatters to take control of the game. By the end of the first quarter the visitors had established a 28-7 lead and by half time the contest was almost over with Vanessa Ellis’s side dominating the hosts with a 52-11 scoreline as the teams went back to the lockers.

Birmingham’s point guard, Brindley showed good control on the ball despite being under constant pressure from the Hatters side, with her efforts kept the A’s going throughout the game. Despite this, the hosts were unable to find any sort of rhythm and so were limited in their offensive options to making a lot of outside attempts.

Hatters continued to press the home side and by the end of the third quarter had stretched their lead to 74-19.

Defensively, Birmingham switched defensively between a man and zone which gave Sheffield the opportunity to execute a variety of set plays which resulted in numerous opportunities. Any thoughts that the champions might ease up were quickly dispelled as Hatters piled on a further 22 points in the final quarter to win the game 96-23.

American import, Shanna Oaddams, proved extremely beneficial to Hatter’s inside game. Throughout the game, she showed her strength down on the block and also secured a lot of rebounds, leaving her with a game total of 27 points.

Hatters Top Scorers: Shanna Oaddams 27 points, Katie Crowley 17, Emma Camp 14.

 

W/e 18th October 2009

Women’s National League Division One

Saturday 17 October 2009

City of Sheffield Hatters 119 Wellingborough Phoenix 9

Hatters give Phoenix a Division One baptism of Fire

City of Sheffield Hatters gave Division One newcomers Wellingborough Phoenix a clear indication of what can be expected from life in the top flight.

With Phoenix still finding their feet in Division One, Hatters stormed into a 22-4 first quarter lead. Hatters upped the pace further in the second quarter outscoring the visitors 37-0 to end the game as a contest as they went into the half time break with a 59-4 lead.

Despite being a little ring rusty and missing numerous scoring chances, Hatters further increased their lead throughout the second half. By the end of the third quarter the lead had stretched to 87-6 with the hosts showing great levels of intensity and focus.

To their credit and despite the score line, Phoenix fought to the end but Hatters were able to add a further 32 points in the final quarter to record a 119-9 victory.

Hatter top scorers: Sarah Naylor 19, Lisa Hutchinson 18, Shanna Oaddams 18.

 

Baptism of fire for brave Phoenix

EBL National League Women’s Division 1

City of Sheffield Hatters      119       Wellingborough Phoenix  9

The fact that a game took place at all on Saturday was a testament to the energy and commitment of the behind the scenes staff at COSTA Wellingborough Phoenix after a summer to forget. Following last seasons successes in Division 2, having developed a powerful squad that was expected to be a competitive Division 1 outfit, however the entire squad has had to be rebuilt due to a unprecedented series of injuries, illnesses, losing players to university and some extreme personal issues meant that the side that took the floor on Saturday had no national league experience at Division 2 level let alone higher than that.

The game was reflective of that, as the Phoenix squad had to grow up quickly against last seasons treble winners. It was apparent after the first few minutes that the game was a miss match and from the neutral’s point of view ceased to become a spectacle by the end of the first quarter.

It was confusing why Sheffield felt they needed to play a full court pressure defence for a full 3 quarters in such a situation, but the Phoenix ladies battled away, they did not fall into the trap of throwing up any old shot, and bravely continued to try to work the ball into good areas, but could not overcome the number of turnovers they committed as a result of the defensive intensity shown by the home side.

Coach Barry Powell was philosophical afterwards “we didn’t expect any favours and didn’t ask for any. The fixture computer was not kind giving us this game first up, but considering the inexperience of the squad I am very proud of the effort the girls showed tonight. We can and will improve every time we step onto the floor this year, and this was a harsh lesson as to the realities of what’s in front of us. We are on a very steep learning curve with this team, some of whom we only met for the first time last week!”

Assistant Coach Pete Burgoine expanded on the summers problems “it was the longest summer I have experienced in over 20 years of being involved in basketball, 5 season long knee injuries of players who could all potentially start at this level along with the other situations that arose decimated our plans, we have hunted high and low for players to be able to come in and contribute at this level, and on more than one occasion considered pulling out. But we took the decision to compete this season, and I am confident that with Coach Powell at the front, we will significantly improve as the season goes on.”