Wolves look to tame Wildcats

Oaklands Wolves will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the Super League Basketball season when they travel to Nottingham Wildcats on Sunday evening.

Lee Ryan's team as they are top of the table with a perfect 6-0 record and three victories against Leicester, Cardiff and Essex have put them in the SLB Trophy final at the end of January.

Coach Ryan is looking forward to getting back into action following the Christmas break: "It’s been a good break for the players and you can see that in their energy in practice this week" he said. "It’s really important we continue where we left off in 2024 this weekend.

"Nottingham is a challenging place to go, they have some strong individual players that we need to shut down to control the game. Our confidence is high and the key now is to continue to build and improve in this next phase of the season." 

Wildcats head into 2025 sitting ninth in the 11-team Super League with a 2-6 records. Their two wins have come against basement pair London Lions and Cardiff Met Archers, while in the Trophy they suffered 31-poiint losses against both Sheffield Hatters and Manchester.

Australian guard Claire Jacobs leads Karen Burton's team with a league-best 23.6 points per game, adding four assists, 3.7 steals and as many rebounds, while American forward Ashlee Lewis has a team-high 9.7 rebounds to go with 9.1 points and two assist per game.

British Talent Joins the Wolves

Oaklands Wolves Announce Signing of Bo Guttormsdottir-Frost for 2024/25 Season

The Oaklands Wolves are thrilled to announce the signing of Bo Guttormsdottir-Frost, a rising star in European basketball, for the remainder of the 2024/25 season. The 16-year-old, 6’2”, British/Icelandic guard joins the Wolves from U.M.F Njardvik, where she competed in the Icelandic Subway League averaging 11.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 27 minutes per game.

Bo’s international pedigree is equally impressive. She has been a standout for Great Britain’s U18 team, leading the squad in the 2024 U18 European Championships with averages of 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. In November 2024, she took another significant step in her career, earning selection to the GB senior women’s team for the 2025 EuroBasket qualifiers and securing a place in the final 12-player roster.

Bo will be furthering her development through the Oaklands Wolves Academy at Oaklands College, combining elite training with education. She said “I am thrilled to be joining Oaklands Academy and sign with the Wolves Super League team. The option to study A levels, live on campus and play with such a talented and strong SLB team is an honour and a great opportunity for me to continue my development. I can’t wait to get started! Let’s Go Wolves!!”

“Bo is the most exciting talent of her generation” said Head Coach Lee Ryan. “We are absolutely delighted we could provide her the right platform to continue her growth in the game. Her character, work ethic, and versatility make her a perfect fit for our program and she is already taking the opportunity to show how good she can be at the top level. Bo has already demonstrated incredible maturity and poise on the international stage, stepping up to the SLB will be a challenge but one we know she is ready for.”

Bo will make her debut on Sunday, as the Wolves travel to Nottingham Wildcats in SLB Championship play for a 7pm Tip. Watch live on the SLB YouTube channel.

Wolves top of the tree at Christmas

Oaklands Wolves go into the British Super League Basketball Christmas break with the only unbeaten record after winning 79-72 in their top-of-the-table clash at Sheffield Hatters, on Saturday.

Both sides went into the game with perfect 5-0 records but a dominant first half paved the way for Lee Ryan's team to take what could be a pivotal victory in the chase to win the inauguaral SLB regular season title.

Despite his sides going into Christmas top of the table, Ryan isn't taking anything for granted: "two undefeated championship teams was always billed as a showdown, but for us it was a chance to measure ourselves at this stage in the season" he said.

"Our early dominate performance even surprised ourselves a little, Sheffield came back gradually, that's to be expected with a club of their experience and stature. It was good to see us control the majority of the game, and have all player contribute to the win.

"Having the only remaining undefeated record in Super League Basketball at the Christmas break is amazing. I get to see the character and quality in these players daily, so for me its not a shock that we sit on top. We are heading in a good direction and really enjoying the season, however our focus remains on the next game only."

Tay McGee-Pleasant led a balanced Wolves' offence with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Sam Ashby had 12 points and four boards while Danni McCray and and Lavinia Da Silva each had 11 points, adding seven and four rebounds respectively. Ella Fotu came off the bench to finish with ten points and four boards while captain Shanice Beckford-Norton had nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

Ashby got Wolves off the mark, and a pair of Beckford-Norton free-throws followed by two at the line from Ashby saw the visitors race into a 15-7 lead after five minutes, and Abigail Rafferty's driving lay-up sent the visitors into the first beak with a 24-18 lead.

Fotu opened the second period scoring to launch an 8-0 Wolves' run and they dominated the early stages of the quarter as Da Silva took the lead out to 21 with just over five minutes gone before Ashby sent them into the locker room with a 49-34 lead.

Murray opened the second scoring, but Wolves found the going tough in the third period as Hatters chipped away at the lead and E Gandini made it an eight point game before scores from Beckford-Norton and Da Silva calmed their nerves and Fotu's lay-up sent Wolves into the final break with a 63-52 lead.

Back-to-back Fotu baskets followed by a McCray put-back gave Wolves a 17 point lead with three minutes gone and Wolves comfortably closed out the victory.

Wolves U-16 boys also had a successful day as they won 100-86 at Ipswich to go into Christmas sitting second in NBL Premier East.

Led by a 28 point, ten rebound double-double from Noah Binum, Michael Ball's side produced a dominant third period performance to record their eighth win in 12 games..

A high scoring first period saw Ipswich take a 32-26 lead before the visitors go going in the second period to tie the game at 48 going into the locker room at half-time. Michael Ball's team continued that form in the third period as Ipswich were outscored 35-14 and there was no way back for the Suffolk side as Wolves wrapped up the victory.

Liam Schertel finished with 19 points and seven rebounds while Ethan Chung had 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. Otis Lau-Johnston also finished with 13 points, adding seven assists, six boards and as many steals.