They’re the youngest franchise in the Women’s British Basketball League, with just six years of history behind them at this level, but they have ambitions as big as anybody and one of those was realised last weekend as the Essex Rebels reached their first-ever Final.
Having not passed the Quarter-Final stage in the Betty Codona Trophy previously, this weekend in Birmingham is truly breaking new ground for the Rebels, and their stalwart Claire Paxton discussed the significance of the achievement ahead of the game.
“This is my third season here and every year we’ve improved and continued to grow a young program that has only been competing at this level for six years. Every year it’s progressed a little bit further and that’s resulted in us making some history this weekend.
“We’ve had amazing investment from the university, which has helped us build a better program throughout my time here, so I think reaching a final like this was just a matter of time for us.
“It’s important to recognise that this is an achievement for everybody who has been part of the programme over the years, including our former Head Coach Tom Sadler (who left the Rebels last year). We wouldn’t be where we are today without the foundations he built and this final is for him as much as it is for us and all the others who have shared the journey.”
New pieces, same culture
As Paxton mentioned, there has been a lot of change to the Rebels franchise over the last 12 months, with long-standing Head Coach Tom Sadler leaving the club midway through last season for a new opportunity, meaning incoming play-caller Ashley Cookson has had his opportunity to make his stamp on the club.
The 29-year-old Scottish Commonwealth Games athlete discussed how that coaching change has impacted the club, and why after seeing how their pathway to this weekend’s Final could pan out, the Rebels felt confident of making it to Birmingham if they could overcome the first hurdle.
“We had some confidence ahead of the competition that this could be our year. We were quite fortunate that Caledonia, London and Sheffield ended up being on the other side of the draw, and having Leicester in our first game was a great test of where we were at.
“After beating them, we knew it was just one more win we needed and Manchester pushed us all the way for it. They’re a very underrated team with a lot of talent, but we managed to get the better of them and make our way to this final, which is a brilliant achievement for the club.
“We have a new head coach this year in Ashley (Cookson), who is in his first full season, and a lot of new players, but the Rebels culture is still the same. It’s been more of an evolution of the club rather than a change, really, with the new personnel, but we have big ambitions to build a great performance program here and we’re excited for what is ahead.”
Looking to lead
A veteran of major Finals in this League, the Scottish forward has much more than minutes to offer her team in this crucial weekend showdown at Utilita Arena Birmingham.
Paxton has contributed positive numbers across the board for the Rebels this season, with her scoring nous and know-how on the boards signifying crucial on-court attributes for the team, but she detailed an area where she thinks she can be particularly helpful in making a difference on the weekend.
“As I’ve grown into this team over the years, my role has definitely become more of a leadership one. I feel like my voice is what I bring to the table more than perhaps points or minutes or anything like that, and I’m happy to have that role.
“Aside from myself and a couple of others, we’ve not got that many players who have experienced big Finals in this League before, but all our roster is very talented and have played in big events throughout their careers, so we’re ready to rise to that challenge, stay level-headed and do what we can to get the win.
“In terms of our opposition, we’ve just got to treat it like any other game. It’ll be a historic occasion for the club but we have to keep our focus and stick to the game plan that the coaching staff lay out for us.”
Rooting for the Rebels
With a committed fanbase behind the Colchester-based club, expect a strong following for the Rebels in the Midlands at the weekend.
Their aspirations as a club and rapid growth, however, have seen Essex pick up fans from across the country, and Paxton discussed what that support means to her and her teammates going into Sunday’s game.
“As a club, we have a really good, committed fanbase but I also think we’ve picked up a lot of fans outside of the Rebels as well, because the British basketball community can see what we’re trying to build here and they want to support it.
“We’re really putting an emphasis on growing women’s basketball in our area and contributing to doing that across the country as well, so that has definitely won us some support from outside of the club, which we’re very grateful for.
“It’s going to be a very tough challenge for us on Sunday, but if we can bring some silverware home it’s going to be an amazing achievement, and would help us grow the program even further. People want to support and be a part of winning teams and we’re doing our best to build that with the Rebels and Sunday in Birmingham will be no different.”
Catch the live Trophy Final action this Sunday on Sky Sports and Sky Sports YouTube.