City of Sheffield Hatters v’s Manchester Mystics

Saturday April 4 – tip-off 4.00pm, All Saints School

 

League record: City of Sheffield Hatters 19-1 Manchester Mystics 7-13

 

Division One champions City of Sheffield Hatters will be looking to move towards their 13th playoff title success when they host Manchester Mystics on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Hatters have appeared in 18 championship finals, and coach Vanessa Ellis is excited about the prospect of post-season play starting, "We are looking forward to the game against Manchester and are expecting a hard fought and competitive game," she said.

 

Although his side were edged into eighth place on the head-to-head rule following a three-way tie with London Heathrow Acers and London Mets, Mystics coach Sergio Lara-Bercial has enjoyed the Manchester club’s season:

 

"We are very proud of what this group has achieved so far this year, and making the playoffs is the icing on the cake. After a great season last year, and the exodus of 4 of our players to pastures new, we committed to developing our young talent. We started the year with eight juniors in the squad and three of them in the starting five, and they have developed into serious contenders in the top flight.

 

"The girls have committed themselves to a gruelling training schedule with, on average, nine sessions a week between team, 7am individuals, and strength and conditioning sessions. This has shown and most of them are pushing to get into the age group national squads at under-16, under-18 and under-20 level. The commitment from the players, staff and parents at the Mystics is beyond belief.

 

"We have fought very hard for everything we got this year and developed a 'never say never' attitude. We have been able to compete with everyone this season and have pushed the top teams in the league all the way with most of our losses being by 6 or less points including some overtimes and last quarter thrillers.

 

"As for Sheffield, their record over the last 20 years and this season speaks for itself. They are the team to beat. The last time we played each other it was a much closer affair than the 12-point defeat might suggest. They play the same way regardless of who they play against, never let up, and show a great level every game.

 

"They don't have off days and we will have to be in top form to compete. However, if we are able to match their physicality, we will be in with a chance. At the end of the day, we have nothing to lose and the pressure is on them to beat us.

 

"You can bank on Gandy, Naylor and Lambert scoring big for them, so our job is to ensure that one or two of these three are kept quieter than normal, which is a hard ask but we will try our hardest. I know the Mystics are ready for the challenge and will make everyone at the club very proud."

 

A strong second half was the key when Mystics travelled to Sheffield in December, with the home side winning 73-52.

 

Hatters saw a 24-19 first period lead maintained at half-time as the teams shared 26 second period points, but they took control with a 17-10 third quarter before a 19-10 final stanza wrapped things up. Lambert added 17 for Hatters, while Caitlin Flood again led Mystics with 19 points.

 

When the teams met in March, Hatters again prevailed with a 71-58 away win. The visitors trailed 21-18 at the first break, but fought back to outscore the Mystics 25-12 in the second period to take a 43-33 lead into the locker room. Mystics won a low-scoring third period 11-10 to cut the lead to nine at the final break, but Hatters stepped up to take the fourth period 18-14 and seal the win.

 

Steph Gandy led the Hatters with 20 while Jagoda Malendowicz added 13 and Jacinda Lambert 12. Flood led all scorers with 26 points for Mystics, with Kristy Shiels the only other Manchester player in double figures with 14 points.

 

UWIC Archers v’s London Heathrow Acers

Saturday April 4 – tip-off 4.00pm, UWIC Sports Hall

 

Overall record:
UWIC Archers 22-3
London Heathrow Acers 10-14

 

Having seen his side edged into second place in both the league and National Cup, UWIC Archers coach Damian Jennings is looking forward to the playoffs starting on Saturday when his side host London Heathrow Acers:

 

"We have always found the Acers difficult to play as they are extremely resilient and punish you if you switch-off. With both size and perimeter shooting they become a team that, on their day, can become a handful for any of the top five teams in the league.

 

"For us, we now enter a mini-season, where there are the potential of three games, but as we have done all year we will only prepare for the game in-front of us, and that is London Acers.

 

"I am proud of our league finish in only our second year in Division One. If I think back to the beginning of the season, and had anyone said you would finish second in the league with an 18-2 record, I would have been very pleased.

 

"However we revised our goals in the New Year, and we feel that perhaps we have fallen just slightly short of what was out there for us to achieve to date – that makes us very hungry for the last goal of the year and the mini-season that is the playoffs!"

 

Archers were the team without a scheduled fixture on the opening week of the league season, and they started their campaign a week later with a 93-60 home victory against London.

 

Acers struggled to cope with GB international Megan Hoffman, allowing her to dominate inside and she converted from the foul line to put Archers 6-2 up within three minutes.  That set the pace for the game, and Archers went into the first break leading by 18 points, and extended that advantage to 47-26 at half-time.

 

The third quarter saw Acers' Floreana Piano take the game on, driving at the heart of the UWIC defence drawing fouls, and hitting from beyond the arc three times. Even with Piano's 13 points in this quarter, UWIC still traded basket for basket and went into the final break having extended their lead by a further point to effectively wrap up the win. Piano finished with 16 points for the visitors, while GB pair Collins (19) and Hoffman (17) dominated for the Welsh side.

 

The return in London saw Archers remain top of Division One following a 75-66 victory. Led by 15 Megan Hoffman points, Archers were 17-16 ahead at the first break before appearing to have the game sewn up at half-time with a 41-30 lead.

 

However, Acers fought back to cut the gap to seven points with a 19-15 third period before Archers shaded the final quarter 19-17 to make it ten wins from as many games. Flo Piano led the Acers with 17 points, while Lear added 12. Trudie Hopgood and Steph Collins each had nine for Archers.

 

The teams also met in December, and Archers overcame a disappointing display to win 73-61 and reach their first ever Women’s National Cup Final. Archers started strongly with Sarah Wagstaff and Meagan Hoffman dominating as they reached the first break with a 17-10 lead, and they built on that by outscoring the hosts 26-22 in the second period to lead 43-32 going into the locker room.

 

An 18-12 third period put the Welsh side comfortably ahead 61-35 at the final break, and although some poor defensive work from UWIC allowed Acers to outscore them 17-12 in the fourth stanza, they comfortably qualified for the final at EIS-Sheffield on January 18.

 

Hoffman led the Archers with 12, while Steph Collins and Nicky Avery each hit 12. Flo Piano led all scorers with 18 for Acers, while Da Silva added 14 and Lear 10.