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BBC News
10-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wolves win first trophy in SLB Cup women's final
Oaklands Wolves are celebrating after winning their first piece of silverware by beating Sheffield Hatters in the Super League Basketball Cup women's St Albans-based team, who were formed in 2009 and first entered the British Basketball League - now SLB - seven years later, triumphed 65-51 in Sunday's final in Ashby was named MVP after scoring 12 points as head coach Lee Ryan's side made up for the disappointment of losing to Caledonia Gladiators in the SLB Betty Codona Trophy final in January."I think we deserved that win but to really prove how we can play and be as a team, that felt amazing," Ashby told DAZN Sport."We knew Sheffield are a good team and we would have to have high intensity to stop them from scoring and that's what we did. Wolves led 21-11 after the first quarter, and after Hatters cut the deficit to just six points at the half-way stage, pulled away in the they were outscored 10-7 in the final quarter, they held on for victory "We are well rounded as a team and really showed that with multiple people getting on the scoreboard - even on the bench everyone was so locked in from the beginning," said guard Shanice Beckford-Norton."This week, we just had to revisit who we are. Lee pointed out everyone's strengths and that's all we had to bring. Instead of everyone trying to do everyone, they were just doing what they're best at, which is why we got the win." The Hatters - who lost 79-72 to Wolves in an SLB Championship meeting in December - had been hoping to win their first trophy since winning the 2019 WBBL Cup head coach Vanessa Ellis told BBC Radio Sheffield that her team had never really got into the game."I'm really disappointed in how we played. Credit to Oakland, they made it tough for us, but we've got to be able to adjust and adapt."She added: "We worked on a lot of things in training - I don't know if it was the occasion, for a lot of these it was the first time in a big final and it's different environment - and we've just got to learn from defeat and move on." The two sides will meet again in the Championship at Oaklands College on 30 March.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gladiators beat Wolves to women's SLB Trophy title
Caledonia Gladiators lifted the women's Super League Basketball Betty Codona Trophy with a thrilling victory over Oaklands Wolves at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. The Scottish club claimed their first major title with a 61-59 victory as Mathilde Domenger led the scoring with a 17-point tally. St Albans-based Wolves trailed by three with 1.5 seconds remaining as Shanice Beckford-Norton hit the first of two free throws. They needed a rebound two-points to force added time but Lavinia da Silva hit the front rim as she gathered Beckford-Norton's deliberate miss with her second attempt. "We've had a bit of a hard season. We knew it was going to be a battle. Wolves are a very good team," Gladiators head coach Chantelle Handy told DAZN Sport. "It's huge, it's great exposure for Scottish basketball. We're trying to develop things up there. "Today it was about aggressively going for the rim. We talked about it all season, about [the] need to get more depth inside. They made it difficult for us, they put on a show, we knew it was going to be a great game and it's been absolutely amazing." Although Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant had the game's first score, Wolves - who have a 100% record in the league - were 19-14 behind after the first quarter. Head coach Lee Ryan called two time outs in the second as he tried to gee up his team, as well as incurring a personal technical foul which Erin McGarrachan punished from the free throw line. Gladiators extended their advantage to six points at the interval but the game was quickly turned on its head after the resumption as a three-pointer by Samantha Ashby helped the Wolves race into a 34-33 lead. But Delaynie Byrne responded with a three of her own as the Gladiators recovered their composure, as the dangerous Beckford-Norton - Wolves' top scorer with 15 - went to the sidelines after being penalised. Wolves faced an eight-point deficit at the start of the fourth and Domenger extended it to double figures with the first basket. But Ryan's side were not finished and a three from McGhee-Pleasant was followed by a two-point steal by Ashby and when Ella Fotu burst through the middle for her first of the game, Wolves were just 51-50 in arrears. Terrinique Battle twice was presented with free throw opportunities, converting only one from two on each occasion, but when Dani McCray found the range, it was 59-58 to Gladiators with 13 seconds remaining on the clock. A foul enabled Tea Adams to score two from the line for Gladiators, whose 73% free throw success rate outstripped 48% by their opponents, and that proved decisive as Wolves failed to convert their last-ditch rebound ploy.
