Academy girls go 1-1 as boys suffer OT woe

With neither senior team in action over the weekend, the academy women's side took centre stage, and they had mixed results against older and more experienced teams. They exited the National Cup with a 73-57 loss at Milton Keynes Breakers on Saturday before bounding back to beat London Elite 63-55 in NBL Division Two the following day.

Wolves started well at Milton Keynes, leading 23-21 at the first break but the game got away them in the second period as Breakers outscored them 27-14 before extending their lead to 66-41 at the final break. A 16-7 fourth quarter proved too little, too late for a Wolves team that was led by 13 Lily Harness points with Rianna Redondo and Caitlin Ryan adding eight apiece.

An entertaining game at Oaklands the following day saw Shanice Beckford-Norton's team finish strongly to maintain their unbeaten start to the league season. After trailing early in the game, Wolves edged the first period 18-17 before extending their lead to 37-31 at half-time. That lead grew by one to 46-38 after a tight third period but the teams were tied at 52 heading into the final four minutes but big threes from Ryan and Redondo put the hosts in charge before five Darcey Woodman points wrapped up the win.

Captain Ryan drained six triples in her team-high 22 points, adding seven rebounds and three steals while Woodman had ten points and three boards. Sarah Nicholson, Redondo and Azaria Abdie-Waite each finished with seven points while Maliya Lawal pulled down eight boards to go with her three steals.

There was overtime heartbreak for Wolves II in the NBL Conference as they went down 81-78 at Stevenage Royals. The hosts doubled their 15-12 first period lead to go into the locker room  33-27 ahead. But Wolves narrowed the gap to  46-42 at the end of the third period and then took the game into overtime with a 31-27 fourth period. That proved to be as good as it got for a  young wolves side who struggled with Royals' size as the hosts won the extra five minutes 8-.5. Tristan McIntosh led La-Quarne Sayles' side with E. Manyeku adding 14 and A. Kwawalana  12.

Three and easy for girls

Junior round-up

iWolves U-16 girls made it three wins from three as they swept aside Brentwood Fire 81-28. The home side rushed into a 31-7 first period lead and the game was over as a contest by half-time with Wolves leading 50-13. They switched to half-court defence for the second half, extending their lead to 68-23 at the end of the third period and then wrapping up the win with a 13-5 final quarter.

Jane Yu led Wolves with 19 points, with Eunice Wong adding 15, N Gitonga 12 and Daisy Golan 10.

The U-16 and U-14 boys premier sides had contrasting home losses against sides from the capital who are expected to challenge for the national title.

Michael Ball's U-16 team never recovered from a 24-12 first period deficit as they went down 88-65 against London Thunder.

Thunder extended their lead to 44-23 at half-time and 65-38 at the final break before the hosts won the fourth frame 27-23.

Otis Lau-Johnston led Wolves with 21 points, eight rebounds and six steals, while Sam Macrea finishing with 12 points and five rebounds. Noah Binan marked his second game in a Wolves vest with an 11-point, 12 rebound.

The U-14 boys went close to an upset before being edged out 72-67 by London Legends. Against a side who had won by 113 points the previous week, Wolves started well and led 16-11 at the first break before the visitors pegged them back to 29-25 at half-time and took control to lead 48-46 going into the final frame.

Legends led by as many as 12 in the fourth period but a Wolves side led by Jacob Edrupt's 21 point, 14 rebound double-double fought their way back into the game before eventually running out of time. Harry Regan added 15 points while Manuel Gracia Peris finished with ten points.

Wolves U-16 conference side collected their first victory of the season as they hammered Aylesbury Dux 111-50, led by 16 points from Albert Dye and 12 apiece from Dylan Maisey and Harrison Fletcher.

Ibrahim Gariba's team never looked back after a 29-6 first period, and they steadily built the lead before wrapping things up with a 32-9. final quarter.

George Walker's U-12A boys team started their league campaign a week after most of the club's other teams but they made up for lose time with a 69-35 home win against Oxford Hoops. The home won all four periods, but it was a 30-10 third quarter that effectively wrapped up the victory for Wolves.

Having been given a walkover the previous week, the U-14 boys conference team made a successful start on the court with a 57-52 victory at Bedford Thunder White.

Graham Roberts' team made a good start with a 14-8 first period but trailed 38-30 at the final break before a big fourth quarter saw them outscore the hosts 27-14 to take the win.

In contrast the U-12B boys lost 61-29 at home against Essex Rebels and the U-14 girls were beaten 136-23 at MK Breakers.

Wolves on form in opening weekend

Wolves' U-16 girls progressed in the National Cup last week with a win at Cambridge Cats, and they repeated the trick in the league this week - this time by a more comfortable 70-49 scoreline.

Under stand-in coach Ibrahim Gariba they won the first period 15-11 and extended the lead to 28-19 going into the half-time break. A 21-14 third period gave them plenty of breathing space before they wrapped up the win with a 21-16 final frame,

After missing last week's game due to problems with international clearance - despite having played for Wolves last season - Eunice Wong led Oaklands with 23 points, with Jane Yu adding 20 and Alexandria Smith ten.

Otis Lau-Johnston led the way with 23 points as the U-16 boys never looked back after a strong start at London Greenhouse Pioneers and finished 92-69 winners in the Premier East clash.

Sam Mcree added a 17 point, 17 rebound double, with N Noah Binum finishing with 13 points and Liam Schertel 12 for Michael Ball's team. The visitors rushed into a 27-13 lead after one period and were 41-26 up at half-time. A 34-15 third period ended the game as a contest leaving Ball to run his bench in the fourth quarter.

The U-14 boys also won on the road as they hammered newly promoted Kent Panthers 83-48 in a farcically officiated game that ended with running clock due to a lack of time. Led by a 29 point, 11 steal double-double from Jacob Edrupt, Wolves won the first period 23-6 and never looked back. The lead grew to 43-21 at half-time and 60-27 at the final break before outscoring the hosts 23-21 in the fourth quarter. Edrupt added seven rebounds while Rocky Starr had five boards to go with his nine points as ll 12 Wolves got on the scoreboard.

The U-14 boys conference team had a mixed afternoon as Bedford Hoopers didn't live up to their name by conceding the game 20-0, but in a hastily arranged friendly Graham Roberts' team went down 53-30 at West Herts II.

The U-16 boys conference team also suffered a road defeat as they went down 82-63 at Bedford Thunder Black, while the U-14 girls couldn't build on a good first half as they lost 64-41 against Reading Rockets. And finally the U-12 boys II never recovered from a 27-6 first period deficit as they lost 67-34 at Brentwood Leopards.