WBBL game posts week 5 (week ending 28th Oct)

After nearly 5 years at the helm, Mark Lloyd is to step down from his position as Head Coach at the University of Essex basketball programme – including the WBBL Rebels.

Lloyd joined the University’s performance basketball programme shortly after it was formed, and has been instrumental in its rapid progression in size and quality.

Under Lloyd’s leadership, both the Men’s and Women’s BUCS teams have progressed to the Premier Division, with the women’s team winning the Premier South at the first attempt in 2017-18. Men’s and Women’s ‘Essex Blades’ teams were formed and entered in to the Basketball England NBL, with particular success for the women who were winners of the National Cup in 2016, and winners of NBL Division 1 in 2017-18.

Most recently, the women’s team has entered the WBBL professional league, as the ‘Essex Rebels’, becoming the first women’s professional sports team in Essex.

“Mark has had a lifelong passion and commitment to basketball, and has brought that to the University of Essex over the past 5 years,” stated University of Essex Director of Sport, Dave Parry.

“He has led the development of something very special at Essex, and has had a tremendous impact upon the wider development of the game. We thank him for everything that he has done, and wish him well for the future” .

Tom Sadler and Ross Norfolk will be taking over Lloyd’s duties in a caretaker capacity for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.

www.wbbl.org.uk/lloyd-to-leave-as-head-coach-of-the-university-of-essex-basketball-programme/

Sat 27 Oct 2018 - WBBL Game Reports

Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters 108-68 Durham Palatinates (28-20, 60-41, 87-54)

Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters bounced back from their first defeat of the WBBL Championship campaign in style, beating Durham Palatinates 108-68 to maintain the pressure at the top of the table. It is the highest points tally of any team so far this season.
Hatters have won all four meetings between the teams since Durham ascended to the BBL last year, and all three league meetings by comfortable double-figure margins.
Leading scorers – Naylor 24, Brodersen 22, Gorrell 22 (Hatters); Bosili 28, Ottewill-Soulsby 15, Macdonald 12 (Palatinates)
Turning point – Hatters scored 13 unanswered points on the run up to halftime, Luiana Livulo and Alison Gorrell scoring four each with Naomi Campbell adding a three-pointer, to cap a huge haul of 60 points in the opening 20 minutes for a lead that proved unassailable at 60-41. It became the biggest score of the season when Helen Naylor hit the final five points of the contest.
Key stat – Sheffield’s shooting was irrepresible in the first half, as they posted a huge points tally while shooting 64% inside, 46% from beyond the three-point line, and a perfect 10-10 at the charity stripe. Levke Broderson, in particular, was 4-4 from three-point range at that stage.
Game hero – Alison Gorrell turned in one of the performances of the season so far as she came close to a triple-double with 22 points on 75% interior shooting, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Caledonia Pride 66-59 Oaklands Wolves (17-17, 30-27, 45-43)

Caledonia Pride have jumped four places, to fifth, in the early WBBL Championship league table after beating Oaklands Wolves 66-59 for a first home win of the campaign.
Pride had lost twice to Wolves last season, having beaten them twice the season before, and hence now edge the head-to-head record between the sides.
Leading scorers – Henderson 10, Kalda 10, Robb 10 (Pride); Rustamzada 21, Schluter 17, Freeman 11 (Wolves)
Turning point – Pride recovered from a four minute scoreless spell over the fourth quarter break to turn around a late deficit, as consecutive three-pointers from Hansine Marshall and Alix Henderson capped a 10-1 burst – which had been sparked by another Henderson score – and gave the hosts a 58-55 edge inside the final four minutes. They trailed once more, but Hannah Robb and Kai-Brith Kalda scored consecutively to seal it inside the final minute.
Key stat – In a game where neither team shot well, the battle of the boards was crucial and won by the hosts with a huge 57 rebounds, compared to 45 for their opposition. They had 15 offensive boards for 17 second chance points, with Tia Weledji leading the way with 10 rebounds overall.
Game hero – In an amazing display of team basketball, no Pride player scored more than 10 points, with a total of nine different scorers in the game. Henderson was the hero, shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field for her 10 points, and adding six assists.

Manchester Mystics 61-65 Sevenoaks Suns (12-16, 27-39, 43-53)

There’s only one unbeaten team left standing in the WBBL Championship after Sevenoaks Suns scored a crucial 65-61 road win at Manchester Mystics in a clash of the top two.
It means Suns move to 5-0 and take a big step towards defending their crown. They now hold three consecutive wins over their rivals and, amazingly, are unbeaten in Manchester in five years since the inception of the WBBL.
Leading scorers – Roscoe 18, Ovner 14, Smith 13 (Mystics); Fritz 16, Carr 14, Good 14 (Suns)
Turning point – Suns dominated the second quarter to take a double-digit lead into halftime, as Judit Fritz hit five early points, opening a 10-2 run with a three-pointer that was capped in-kind by Katie Bennett for a 26-16 lead. It peaked at 35-20 as Jess Good scored seven quick points, and they held on down the stretch despite the hosts coming all the way back and Georgia Jones missing a three-pointer to tie the game with nine seconds remaining.
Key stat – Suns’ defence set up the win as they held the hosts to just 27 first half points, shooting only 35% from the field and 11% from beyond the three-point line. Mystics’ star Georgia Jones wasn’t allowed to score in the entire first half, shooting 0-5.
Game hero – Suns out-rebounded Mystics 46-33 and were led in that department by Jess Good, who posted a double-double of 14 points and 13 boards, adding four assists, four steals and two blocks for an impressive stat line.

Absolutely not. I can't really say much more. But you know they'll be a blog one day. Probably

Hersey ... Why say it then ?   ... that just makes people even more curious !!

... I just assumed it was due to Rebels current sh1t results 

Caledonia Pride are streaming live their game against Nottingham Wildcats via Facebook

Tip off at 1.15pm


www.facebook.com/CaledoniaPride/