Oaklands bounce back from Trophy loss, Newcastle come out on top, Manchester and Sheffield dominate

Wolves, Manchester and Hatters enjoyed enormous wins, while the Eagles overcame the Riders in a busy week of Championship action.

Durham Palatinates 52 – 77 Oaklands Wolves

This week’s singular game day tipped off on Saturday afternoon, as the league-leading Wolves arrived to face the Palatinates at the Sports and Wellbeing Park.

With Oaklands fresh off their first loss of the season, in the Betty Codona Trophy Final, fans expected a ferocious start, as they attempted to bounce back into dominant form. However, they didn’t see that as the game began.

Both teams traded baskets throughout the opening period, with Shanique Lewis and Danielle McCray scoring lay-ups to set the tone for their respective teams. Ella Fotu then created a lead for Oaklands midway through the quarter, before Sam Ashby stepped up from the bench to extend it by scoring from close range.

Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby chipped away at the deficit as the quarter progressed, but Ashby offered a swift response, draining a pair of threes in quick succession to widen the margin further. Durham continued to feed Ottewill-Soulsby inside to keep them within striking distance, but when Terri Battle’s jumper splashed home, the Wolves finished the first quarter ahead by eight.

The Palatinates reacted well to trailing early. They came out for the second quarter with a point to proive, as Ottewill-Soulsby and Lucas drove the lane aggressively to lessen the differential. Eliza Brault then made it a five-point game with a deep three, before Lucas made a crafty lay-up a minute later to move to within three.

Lucas then swapped threes with Ashby, with Durham keen to earn a lead of their own before half-time. It wasn’t to be though; Oaklands pushed back and when Battle hit a jumper from midrange moments before the break, she secured an eight-point advantage.

Wolves’ coach clearly sent a message in his half-time team talk, as his side came flying out of the blocks. Lavinia Da Silva, Shanice Beckford-Norton and Fotu combined for six unanswered points, propelling the visitors to a double-digit lead.

McCray then snatched the baton for a short spell, enjoying a heat check and sinking jumpers to add to Durham’s pain. Ashby then contributed a pair of makes from beyond the arc and just like that, Oaklands led by 19.

Lucas took on the offensive load for Durham, earning an incredible four trips to the free-throw line in just over a minute, pulling her team back to within 12. Beckford-Norton won her own visit to the charity stripe a minute later and put Oaklands back ahead by 14, heading into the final instalment.

When Durham needed it the most, Isabel Wood came off the bench to inject some urgency into proceedings with a make from inside and out. That’s when the fun stopped for the home team however; Battle made another timely jumper and regained momentum for the Wolves.

The Palatinates’ offence fell apart, going scoreless for four minute, while Oaklands offered a steady diet of scoring, through McCray, Ashby and Fotu.

Turnovers played a brutal role in Durham’s collapse, with the hosts committing 13 more than the road side. Shooting 16% from three-point land didn’t help either and when the final buzzer sounded, the Wolves won 77-52 and extended their unbeaten league campaign to ten victories.

Most Valuable Player: Making an enormous impact from the bench, Sam Ashby added five rebounds and four assists to her impressive 22-point scoring display.

Leicester Riders 74 – 83 Newcastle Eagles

The second game of the day took place at the Netball Centre, where the Riders welcomed the Eagles.

Sitting two places above their opponents, with two games in hand on them, Newcastle entered the game as favourites. However, it was Leicester who made the brighter start. An Elise Tweedie fade-away and a pair of Kaia Harrison lay-ups created an early advantage for the hosts.

Newcastle found a response through Jada Guinn and Tierra Hodges, who came back swinging with their own lay-ups to tie the game and take a momentary two-point lead. Tweedie tied it up again, but then came another Eagles scoring slurry, courtest of Hodges and Lauren Saiki, who scored from mid-range to put their side ahead by seven.

As the opening quarter came to a halt, Guinn completed an ‘and-1’ opportunity, earning a double-digit lead for the visitors.

Leicester answered back perfectly; Shaelynne Sanchez-Czerniecki and Katie Januszewska drained a three each within a minute and pulled the Riders back to within four points. Newcastle pushed back with makes from Guinn and Hodges, but the Riders wouldn’t give up.

Bigott and Sanchez-Czerniecki hit jumpers to pull back to within single figures, with Leicester’s offence now in full-flow. Hodges and Lowe converted lay-ups, but Newcastle then experienced something of a barren spell, while the Riders chipped away at the deficit.

Tweedie carved through the lane near the end of the half and converted a lay-up, shrinking the gap to just four points, as the teams departed for the locker rooms.

 Jessica Eadsforth-Yates hit a triple immediately after the teams returned to the hardwood, followed by a Harrison drive that pulled Leicester back to within a single point. The positive restart continued when Bigott and Tweedie hit jump shots moments later, as Leicester kept themselves in the contest.

Tweedie then splashed it home to catapult the hosts ahead, before Januszewska created a four-point advantage in the following offence. Harrison built upon the advantage with a crafty make from close range, but couldn’t pull away entirely.

Sarah Birkett offered a scoring burst for the visitors, hitting jumpers from inside and out to shrink the deficit. Hodges then took over again, sinking from mid-range before she forced her way to the free-throw line, converting cooly to tie the ball game.

Shannon Hatch scored all of her five points within a minute, pulling away for the Eagles and when Guinn slicing through the paint for an easy two-point look, Newcastle finished the period in control of the game.

As the final quarter began, Hodges and Harrison swapped buckets, with Leicester fighting to stay in the clash. Guinn continued to pull the strings for the Newcastle offence, but Harrison did the same, scoring steadily to provide the Riders a lifeline.

Despite their continued efforts, Leicester couldn’t find an avenue back into this one. Every time the hosts chipped away, the visitors brought them back down to earth with an offensive surge that tightened their grip on the game.

The Eagles totally commanded the boards, pulling down 24 more rebounds than Leicester to control the pace of the game. There were no surprises down the stretch and when the final buzzer sounded,  Newcastle won by nine points, moving further ahead of their opponents.

Most Valuable Player: Tierra Hodges put on a dazzling display, recording 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead Newcastle to victory.

B. Braun Sheffield Hatters 98 – 56 Cardiff Met Archers

In a later tip-off, Sheffield welcomed Cardiff to the Canon Medical Arena for more Saturday night hoops.

The Archers only have one win to their name so far this season, so the second-placed Hatters posed quite a challenge. However, they made quite the confident start, when Kiara Stewart led them to an early lead in the opening minute. A Sara Jorgensen lay-up would then open up a four-point advantage for the visitors, but that was as good as it would get for Cardiff.

Sheffield came back with an offensive surge, capped off by threes from Emma Gandini and Laura Zolper, which catapulted the hosts into a lead of their own. Georgia Gayle widened the margin with a crafty lay-up, as the Hatters tried to take full control.

Connie Clarke put in a valiant effort, offering Cardiff buoyancy with an ‘and-1’ play, before Jorgensen tied the game at the close of the opening period. Game on?

Not quite. After a frustrating restart from both teams, Zolper enjoyed a trip to the line that edged Sheffield ahead once again. Gandini then drained from beyond the arc to push her team further ahead. Zolper followed that up with a pair of jumpers from inside and out, making it a ten-point game.

Turnovers became a problem for Cardiff and they were made to pay. The Hatters punished the Archers for their mistakes, scoring by committee in transition, piling in the points as they tightened their grip on the contest.

A three-minute scoreless spell saw the Archers fall behind even further and when the teams split for the half-time break, they trailed by 19.

Things didn’t get any easier for Cardiff at the restart; Georgia Gayle combined with Tyia Singleton for a series of lay-ups that widened the chasm to 28 points, just two minutes into the half.

Cardiff needed something special and Stewart tried to give it to them, making a pair of lay-ups to pull them closer. Lemoigne earned a trip to the line too, with the Archers refused to give up. A Clarke reverse lay-up a minute later made it a 20-point game.

The trio of Singleton, Gayle and Zolpler then offered another scoring burst for Sheffield, as they protected their significant lead. When Singleton converted from close range at the end of the third quarter, they found themselves back ahead by 24.

Cardiff huffed and puffed, but they ran out of breath entirely in the final quarter. Sheffield carved their way through the lane at will, scoring a series of lay-ups that stuffed the scoring column. Turnovers reared their ugly head again for the Archers, offering a clear lane for a Hatters team now in full-flow.

Nina Krisper joined the party, driving with precision to punctuate Sheffield’s dominance. Cardiff just couldn’t find the bucket and when Collier scored a lay-up in the closing seconds, the Hatters had won the contest by 42 points.

Most Valuable Player: Laura Zolper headlined a tremendous team performance, scoring 28 points and dishing out 8 assists to inspired her team to a big W.

London Lions 61 – 94 Manchester Basketball

Elsewhere in the capital, the Lions played host to Manchester at the Barking Abbey School. Yet to win a game, London aimed to cause a major upset.

Manchester started as expected – with consecutive Danni Williams lay-ups to open scoring and create an early advantage. Bride Kennedy-Hopoate then added to the positive start by converting from close range.

A Macy Spinks bucket from downtown provided resistance from London though, before the Lions tied the game from the free-throw line. The teams then traded makes for a couple of minutes, playing a game of cat and mouse, with Manchester edging ahead consistently.

Eventually, Kian Omer-Jones split a pair from the charity stripe with a minute left in the quarter, taking a one-point lead. Unfortunately for the hosts however, that’s as good as things would get. Nicolette Fairley and Williams made lay-ups as the quarter wound down, re-establishing a Manchester lead.

London needed a major response, but it didn’t quite work out that way. The home team went scoreless for the first half of the second quarter, while Lauren Thomas-Johnson, Fairley and Kennedy-Hopoate drove the lane for easy looks, creating a double-digit advantage for the road team.

Warren and Williams then teamed up for widen the gap, attacking the paint ferociously, stretching the London defence to the limit. Spinks and Omer-Jones pushed back for London as the quarter progressed, but Manchester had plenty more in the tank. Kennedy-Hopoate led the surge and when she made a free-throw at the end of the half, Manchester led by 11.

Things went from bad to worse for London at the restart, as Kennedy-Hopoate scoring five points in a minute. Major shots from Omer-Jones provided a temporary solution, but Manchester had far too much for the Lions. Thomas-Johnson and Williams had hot hands, building their advantage while their opponents suffered a three-minute scoreless run.

Williams seemingly couldn’t miss, piling in the points and simultaneously creating substantial separation between the teams. With less than a minute left in the third period, Manchester were on top by 29. The Lions shrank the deficit with a string of free-throws, but they trailed by 25 heading into the final quarter.

With Manchester in full control, dictating the pace of play with tremendous ball movement and stubborn defence, Fairley, Davida Dale and Hannah Shaw added insult to injury as the final quarter began.

Warren then put three points on the board to move ahead by 31, before Thomas-Johnson made a lay-up to make it 33.

Spinks and Omer-Jones plugged away for London down the stretch, but it was far too late. When Warren converted on an ‘and-1’ play, she finalised a dominant 33-point victory for Manchester.

Most Valuable Player: Danni Williams played a major role in Manchester’s dominance, recording 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

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