Blades Women secure basketball crown

Essex Blades Women are celebrating success after securing a historic league title.

The Blades defeated Kings College London 97-33 in the elite British University Sport (BUCS) Premiership South, overcoming university giants Cardiff Met.

This great achievement during their debut season was a silver lining for the team who were beaten by Ipswich (Basketball Academy) at the Basketball England National Cup Final.

Head Coach Mark Lloyd said: "To bounce back in this fashion within days of the disappointment of the cup final shows what a family we are and the character that this group of players possess. It is great to know we have our first piece of silverware in the bag!"

Full match report

A slow start saw from the home side saw Kings College take advantage establishing an early lead through good work from Bego, who hit some early jump shots. Charleene Tom continued her fine recent form reducing the arrears with an early steal and finish at the basket, whilst Coleen Leung combined well with Jasmine Ogunjimi as the quarter finished with the opposition 16-15 ahead.

An emphatic second quarter saw any Blades cobwebs blown away, as the home side outscored their London opposition 29-2, with Monika Kucerkova dominating inside and Cat Lutz on fire from 3 point range. Lutz demonstrated sharp play in the paint, spinning past the guard to finish to the home crowds delight as the Blades secured a commanding 44-18 lead at the half.

The second half saw another Shaxon 3 extend the lead to over 30, and with the game effectively won the Blades put on a show with back to back 3's from Lutz. Shannon Matthews and Katherina Farou dominated both ends of floor, with their defensive intensity leading to numerous turnovers and scores. A late surge of points from Matthews and Karla Powlesland ensured an emphatic 97-33 victory for the Blades, Cat Lutz leading all scorers with 23.

The Men were up next against a strong Solent University side featuring a number of high quality national league division 1 players. Solent came out strong from the start, American Herman Senor II dictating their play and knocking down 3 pointers as a double digit lead was soon established. However a resilient Blades team stayed strong, back to back scores from Tom Sadler saw the first half ending with just a 10 point deficit.

The second half proved to be a high quality affair as Leigh Greenan was finding joy inside picking up some early free throws, a Sadler deep 2 reduced the deficit to single figures. H

However Herman Senor II again showed his class knocking down a 3 pointer to halt the home sides momentum, a late run in the third quarter led by back to back to 3's from Nick Sims and Findlay Wood bought the blades within range and a great drive and pass from Wood to Greenan whose shot beat the buzzer, saw the lead just 8 for the visitors heading into the final quarter. An early Wood 3 led the Blades charge, with Tom Child and Dan Morton impacting off the bench, a further 3 from Sadler gave the home crowd hope however a classy Solent side soaked up the pressure and held out for a 76-65 victory.