Friday Feeling

Four fascinating fixtures dominate this weekend’s schedule as the Championship takes a back seat in favour of the Cup Quarter-Finals.

Manchester Mystics enter the weekend having won consecutive fixtures and the side from Lancashire are in no mood to put a dent in their momentum.

“It’s about sticking to what we do best,” declared Rheanne Bailey.

“When we play at our best we are composed, move the ball well and move without the ball equally as effectively. That’s what we’ll need to do once again on Saturday if we’re to progress to the semi-finals.”

Just a little over 10 months ago it was Bailey that poured in a team-high 23 points to propel Manchester to glory at the inaugural Cup Final. But that was last season and for Bailey it’s about “taking nothing for granted” as the reigning Cup holders prepare to take on Caledonia Pride.

“Pride are a tough, well organised team with great energy. We are definitely going to have to slow them down in transition and play great team defence against them.

“If we want to win the Cup again, we’ll have to earn it the same way we did last season: turn up, work hard and take it one game at time. That’s our philosophy.”

For Caledonia Pride’s Robyn Lewis the Cup represents an equaliser and an opportunity to put aside Championship frustrations.

“We are really excited about this weekend’s game,” said Lewis.

“After a disappointing performance last weekend, we’ve made a big effort to regroup. We’ve had a great week of practice.

“The start to our season has been mixed but we know when we play to our potential we can be competitive against anyone.

“Manchester has a lot of offensive threats so a strong defensive performance will be key for us, especially against their ball screen,” concluded Lewis.

Leicester Riders welcome Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters to tip off the day’s action. The hosts will be full of confidence after a dominant road victory in their previous outing, while Sheffield will hope to bounce back from a first defeat of the season.

Elsewhere, Oaklands Wolves face Team Northumbria before Nottingham Wildcats and Sevenoaks Suns do battle for the last semi-finals berth to close out the weekend’s proceedings.

WBBL Fixtures Saturday

Riders v Hatters (Cup) – 2:00pm

Wolves v Northumbria (Cup) – 3:45pm

Mystics v Pride (Cup) – 4:00pm

Wildcats v Suns (Cup) – 5:00pm

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