U-14 girls win overtime thriller

After losing their first six games of the season in NBL Premier South, Wolves U-14 girls have now won three games on the bounce following a thrilling 71-68 overtime victory at Reading Rockets, on Saturday..

Wolves led 18-12 at the first break but let the hosts back into the game with some turnovers and saw their lead reduced to 30-28 at half-time. A string third period saw Wolves lead by 12 points going into the fourth quarter. But on of the Rockets got hot, draining three triples and the home side by three with 73 seconds on the clock. Rose Marsh blocked what would have been a game clincher for Reading and Woles got the ball to Jane Yu who nailed a trey with 1.2 seconds on the clock to tie the score. Somehow Rockets missed from point blank range after a timeout to send the game into overtime and the hosts hit a three to open the extra period. 

Grace Betteridge hit the go-ahead shot as the seconds ticked down and a Rockets player stepped out of bounds as she attempted to send the game into a second OT period, leaving Yu to dribble the ball out for the win.

Yu finished with 28 points, with Marsh and Lois Levenston scoring 15 apiece as Wolves gained revenge for their opening day loss against Rockets.

Another team to avenge a defeat on the first weekend of the campaign were the U-16 conference side team who beat Bedford Thunder Blacks 94-78 on Saturday lunchtime. 

Ibrahim Gariba's side did most of the damage in the first period as they blew into a 27-16 lead against a Bedford team who had only lost one league game this season. The teams shared 40 second quarter points before Wolves edged the third frame 20-19 and wrapped things up with a 27-23 final stanza. Albert Dye (31) and Zac Butterworth (26) both finished with season high points tallies to lead Wolves.

Wolves U-16 premier team repeated their opening day victory against Greenhouse Sports as the London team were beaten 78-47 at Oaklands on Saturday afternoon.

Michael Ball's team built on a 19-15 first period lead to take a 40-27 advantage into the locker room at half-time. The teams shared 22 points in a low-scoring third period before Wolves pulled awy with a 27-9 final frame to reach the midways stage of their East Premier campaign with a 7-4 record.

Wolves U-12 boys A ended Kingston Lions' perfect start to the season as a dominant third period paved the way for a 61-50 home victory, on Sunday.

George Walker's side trailed 10-9 at the first break before shading the second period to take a 25-23 lead into the locker room. But the visitors were over-ran with a 21-6 third period and Wolves could afford to only score five points in the final ten minutes and still wrap up their seventh win in eight games. Josh Butterworth led Wolves with 21 points.

In contrast, it was another tough game for the U-12 B team as they went down 70-42 against Brentwood Leopards despite a good third period where they outscored the visitors 15-13. The U-14 conference side also tasted defeat as they never recovered from a 25-9 first period, eventually going down 85-45 at North Herts Knights.

Big wins for three Wolves teams

Oaklands Wolves coach Lee Ryan was delighted as his team maintained their perfect start to the season with a 108-41 crushing of Cardiff Met Archers on Saturday.

Wolves led 27-10 at the first break and had the game sewn up by half-time as they took a 40-point lead into the locker room.

"It was a comprehensive win against a short-handed Cardiff team" said Ryan. "The players stuck to task and continued to entertain the crowd throughout. We are in a really good rhythm right now which we need to continue with right up to this weekend's game against Sheffield. It’s set up to be a great contest just before the Christmas break!"

Ryan's side were led by Sam Ashby as the GB guard hit five threes on the way to a 25-point, eight rebound and four assist night. Abigail Rafferty finished with 17 points, with the Irish international adding six rebounds and five assists.  Captain Shanice Beckford-Norton went agonisingly close to a triple double with 11 point, ten assists and eight boards while Terri Battle was a rebound short of the double-double, scoring 12 points.

Wolves scored the game's first seven points and Archers had no answer to the hosts' inside game before Ella Fotu's triple followed by a Beckford-Norton score gave Oaklands a 17-point first period advantage.

Ashby nailed a pair of triples to open the second period before Beth Sarson poured in three efforts from the Land of Plenty to as Wolves took a 57-17 lead into the locker room and there was no way back for the Welsh team. 

Saturday's trip to Sheffield Hatters could prove to a pivotal game in the race to win the inaugural Super League Women's title as both teams go into the game with perfect 5-0 records, and only Newcastle in the chasing pack have less than three losses as the league heads into a one-week Christmas break. All of Hatters' league wins have been by double-digit margins but they missed out on a place in the Trophy final when they went down 68-62 at Caledonia Gladiators, and it is the Scottish side who will meet Wolves in the showpiece game at Birmingham's NIA next month.

Hatters are led by GB international Georgia Gayle's 16.4 points per game while Laura  Zolper adds 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.6 steals.

There was also a big win for Wolves men as they hammered University of East Anglia 111-55 on Saturday afternoon.

Deji Adakunie led the way with a massive 26 point, 22 rebound double-double while La'Quarne Sayles had 24 points and six boards. Captain Lore Adekkeye missed out on the holy grail of a triple-double by a single point, with with ten rebounds and 11 assists but did have a consolation of a massive block, while Kajus Gasperas finished with 15 points.

Liam Jefferson's team started strongly, building on a 15-3 lead after five minutes to take a 28-5 advantage into the first break. UEA edged the first five minutes of the second period by a single point but after that it was one-way traffic with Wolves taking a 52-24 lead into the clocker room and then outscoring the visitors 26-12 and 33-19 in the final two quarters to give Wolves their biggest win in the five seasons since taking over the Leopards franchise..  

Wolves U-18 women will go into the Christmas break with a perfect 7-0 record after an 86-38 road win at Greenwich Phoenix, on Saturday.

Lavinia Da Silva's team edged a tight first period 12-11 before blowing the hosts away with a 26-13 second quarter and a 19-8 third period to take a 57-32 lead into the final break. They then wrapped things up with a 29-6 fourth quarter to stay top of the Southern Conference.

Imogen Baker and Eunice Wong  led Wolves with 18 points apiece with Paris Mitchell-Tyson adding 12 

Injury-hit Wolves U-18 boys saw their National Cup dreams end at the quarter-final stage as they were edged out 80-74 by Charnwood Riders on Sunday evening. The visitors led for virtually all of the game but Wolves stayed in touch and were two down heading into the final five minutes before the midlands team closed out the win and a trip to Solent in the semi-final.

Lewis Street shocked everyone by opening the scoring with a tripl, but Wolves trailed 24-19 at the first break and Riders took a 43-37 lead into the locker room at half time. The visitors had a game-high 13 points lead at 63-50 going into the final period but Wolves fought back and Lanre Pratt made it a two-point game heading into the last five minutes but that was as close as the hosts could get.  

Aydan Moloney led Wolves with 17 points and seven boards while Emmanuel Orisunmibola added 15 points. Lanre Pratt had an 11 point, 12 rebound double-double but 15-from-28 at the foul line hurt the home side.

Christmas double on Saturday

Both of Wolves' senior teams are in home action on Saturday with the men hosting Division Three basement side University of East Anglia at 4.15pm before the women look to maintain their perfect start to the season when they face Cardiff <et Archers at 7.15pm. Combined tickets can be ordered here.

Jefferson's side travelled to Norwich to face University of East Anglia in their opening game of the season and 19 points from Gavin Mitchell helped the to an 86-51 victory. That set the scene for the Norfolk side as they have lost all eight league games by an average of 32 points.

The SLB team also face a struggling team they have already beaten on the road when Cardiff are the visitors. The Welsh side lost all their games last season, and are currently tenth in the 11-team league with their surprise 48-45 home win against Leicester their only success in seven league and Trophy games.

Ashby led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and as many steals when Wolves crushed the Welsh team on the road when they met in the Trophy group stage at the start of the season.

One ticket gets you into both games! We have NBA merchandise on sale so wear your favourite NBA jersey and Santa outfits! 🎅There will be prizes for the best outfit!

Special guest @hoopinnlootin will be making an appearance, so don't forget to check them out! There's a bar, DJ & free parking.