Gladiators overcome Wolves to earn silverware in nail-biting Trophy final

Caledonia Gladiators fought off a stubborn Oaklands Wolves team in dramatic fashion to win Super League Basketball Betty Codona Trophy Final 61-59. The game came down to the wire, with a last-second missed lay-up eventually deciding the contest.

Mathilde Domenger was named Final MVP with 17 points.

Starting Fives

Oaklands Wolves: Lavinia Da Silva, Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Maria Albiero, Danielle McCray, Sam Ashby

Caledonia Gladiators: Mathilde Domenger, Hannah Robb, Kat Tudor, Kirsty Brown, Aerianna Harris

First Half:

The stage was set at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, the unbeaten Wolves prepared to take on the Gladiators.

With Oaklands fresh from an emphatic Semi-Final victory and atop the Championship table, they entered the final with tremendous cause for optimism. However, it was Caledonia who made the brighter start. Aerianna Harris combined a lay-up with a crafty hook-shot to launch the Scottish outfit out to an early lead.

Mathilde Domenger joined in with a pair of mid-range makes, as the Gladiators opened their opponents up via dynamic ball movement. Resistance then came for Oaklands in the shape of Danielle McCray’s jump shot and bench contribution of Shanice Beckford-Norton, who forced her way to the line twice to shrink the margin.

Domenger earned her own trip to the charity stripe soon after, where she coolly converted and earned a five-point advantage as the first quarter timed out.

 The second quarter started with an equally frustration spell for both teams, with their shared defensive intensity causing a string of missed shots and regrettable turnovers. Three minutes into the period however, Tea Adams stepped up for Head Coach Chantelle Handy’s team, driving the lane confidently to tighten the Gladiators’ grip on the contest with a pair of lay-ins.

McCray was joined by Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant to push back for the Wolves, nailed from close range and pulling their team back within striking distance. However, when Lee Ryan was hit with a coach’s technical, Caledonia captain Erin McGarrachan sank her free-throw and secured a six-point half-time lead.

Second Half:

The Wolves seemed refreshed when they returned to the floor. McCray combined with Sam Ashby for a couple of tough lay-ups that saw them tighten the margin to just two points.

Ashby let it fly from beyond the arc a minute later, rendering it a one-point contest, before McCray took the baton yet again with a mid-range jumper that edged the Wolves ahead. Game on.

When the going got tough, Caledonia leant on Domenger. The French guard snatched the lead back for Caledonia with an elbow jumper, which was followed up by a difficult Adams shot, as the Gladiators rediscovered their rhythm.

A tough and-one play from Harris punctuated a strong Caledonia run, as they re-opened the lead to nine. Beth Sarson split a pair of free throws moments later and heading into the final frame, Oaklands trailed by eight.

Caledonia rebuilt their lead as the fourth instalment began; Domenger sliced through the lane for an easy look and Kirsty Brown converted in the paint to earn the Gladiators their largest lead of the afternoon, ahead by 12.

Of course, a formidable team such as the Wolves had fight left in them. When they needed it the most, they went on a 9-0 run to claw to within three. Scoring by committee, their strong ball movement provided a lifeline, with seven minutes on the clock.

The teams traded buckets for a couple of minutes, until Domenger and Kat Tudor drained shots to edge Caledonia ahead by six points once again. Terri Battle came back swinging for Oaklands however, earning two trips to the charity stripe, where she converted at 50% but pulled her team two points behind.

As had come to be expected throughout the contest, Domenger made a crucial play with just under two minutes remaining, drawing a foul and sinking a pair from the line without flinching.

A minute later, Beckford-Norton hit back with a well-executed jumper to make it a one-possession game and Caledonia called a timeout to regroup.

With just 23 seconds left, Oaklands fouled and Adams hit one of her two free-throws for the Gladiators, making it a three-point game and providing hope for the stubborn Wolves.

Rather than looking for the three to tie, McCray splashed home a fadeaway mid-range effort to pull it back to just one point and Caledonia took another break.

When they returned, Adams was fouled again, but this time she sank both clutch free-throws, widening the margin to three with just 13 seconds on the clock. Oaklands called their final timeout.

The in-bound play was effective, as Beckford-Norton found an open lane to the basket but blew the lay-up. However, she was able to grab her own rebound, draw a foul and earn a dramatic trip to the line with 1.5 seconds remaining.

With time on Caledonia’s side, Beckford-Norton successfully hit her first and purposefully missed the second free-throw, resulting in a crucial rebound from Lavinia Da Silva. The Portuguese centre came up short on the subsequent lay-up as the buzzer sounded and just like that, the Caledonia Gladiators were Trophy champions.

In enormously dramatic fashion the Gladiators had secured the 61-59 victory, winning the Betty Codona Trophy and their first piece of silverware in Super League Basketball. Celebration spilled onto the court, with Caledonia plays visibly delighted to have climbed the summit for the first time.

Player of the Game:

Mathilde Domenger stepped up for Caledonia throughout the game to earn Final MVP. Leading the offence, she recorded 17 points, two board and two assists.