Barking Abbey coach Mark Clark was delighted to see his side win their derby game in the capital as Brixton Topcats were beaten 65-54 on their own court.

 

"I'm really pleased that we managed to beat a Brixton team who kept coming at us the whole game," he said.

 

"Our injury list keeps getting a little longer with Frankie Whitby only able to play eight minutes and Rosie Hynes limited to only seven today. With every injury it gives us the chance to use another young player and Chantel Charles really stepped in today with some real quality minutes. Her ten minutes in the second half were key as we dealt with the pressure Brixton were putting us under.

 

"Harriett Yea's return was significant in the experience she brings and with the imminent return of Ella Clark, the second half the season looks positive."

 

A good first half paved the way for Abbey's victory as they doubled their 18-12 first period lead to 35-23 going into the locker room.

 

Topcats trimmed the deficit to 48-37 at the final break, before the teams shared 34 points in the fourth quarter leaving Abbey with their third league win of the season.

 

Ofomata led the home side with 19 while Davies and Da Silva each added 11. Natalie Stafford matched her league leading averge of 31 for Abbey while Christina Gaskin finished with 14.

 

Nottingham Wildcats chalked up their fifth league win of the campaign as visitors London Heathrow Acers were beaten 78-56 (Game Stats) on Saturday.

 

After the 130 mile trip to Nottingham, the Acers' bus got to within two miles of the court and was then held in traffic for over an hour and running into the arena 10 minutes after the tip time wasn't the best preparation for the game.

 

The first quarter proved to be close with the teams trading basket for basket. Acers were finding space inside and moving the ball well on offense, but a lapse in concentration at the end of the quarter allowed the home side to take control of the game as they went on a 10-0 run to lead 20-13 at the first break.

 

Once the home side established a lead there was no looking back. As Acers found form from beyond the arc to compliment the strong play inside, the Wildcats also stepped up their offense on the break and by half time they had increased their lead to 10 points.

 

The third quarter saw both the Wildcats imports take control. With 10 points from Caitlin Flood and Sabra Wrice controlling the point, the home side extended their lead further.

 

Going into the final stanza, Wildcats held a 67-44 lead and although Acers won the final quarter by one point, it was too little too late.

 

Flood and Wrice finished with 23 points apiece for the Wildcats along with nine and five rebounds respectively. Siobhan Prior added 14 points while Emma Pass had an 11 point, 15 board double-double in a 40-minute performance. Despite the 22-point win, Nottingham shot the ball quite poorly (38% FG) but did force the Acers into 25 turnovers.

 

Paula Schweikert led Acers with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Lucimara Da Silva had an 11 point, ten rebound double-double and Ruth Murphy also scored 11 points.

 

Sevenoaks Suns continued their encouraging season with a 60-44 home victory against London Mets.

 

The home side were without coach Len Busch and starting point guard Renee Busch as both were coaching at a schools' tournament in Holland, but with Femi Hamilton handling point guard duties and former London Towers play-caller Andy Ballum stepping in to coach, the Suns made it five wins from nine games.

 

The home team blew into a 13-4 first period lead, and although a 10-9 second quarter saw Mets make it an eight-point game, Suns outscored the visitors in both second half periods to take the win.

 

Suns had a balanced scoring attack with Katie Harris and Andrea Wanstall each scoring 15 and Arek Deng adding 14. Marinova also scored 15 to lead the Mets.

 

"We are very happy with our progress so far and are really looking forward to the second half of the season," said Busch.

 

 

 

Dec 5 2009	City Of Sheffield Hatters	69	v	64	UWIC Archers
Dec 5 2009	Nottingham Wildcats	78	v	56	London Heathrow Acers Game Stats
Dec 5 2009	Sevenoaks Suns	60	v	44	London Mets
Dec 5 2009	Birmingham A's	47	v	94	Team Northumbria
Dec 6 2009	Wellingborough Phoenix	48	v	93	Leeds Carnegie Game Stats
Dec 6 2009	Brixton Topcats	54	v	55	Barking Abbey
Dec 6 2009	London Mets	40	v	81	Team Northumbria