Kian Gadsby and Sam Bunce
The University of Nottingham’s Women’s Basketball team earned the Green and Gold a 4-1 lead in the Varsity series with a 85-51 against Nottingham Trent.
UoN came into this game as slight favourites, as they had competed in the previous league season a division above their opponents. However, NTU were victorious in this matchup in Varsity last year, winning 79-74.
The Green and Gold were thriving from close range in the early stages, but the first three pointer of the night went Trent’s way. UoN did then claim their first three pointer after an initial scramble to find the basket, and this seemed to give them the confidence to assert further dominance.
Both teams traded baskets before two sets of free throws for UoN gave them a 5 point lead at 13-8.
Maleah Turner for Trent celebrated when she won a foul, showing the feisty nature of Varsity, and she backed it up by executing her free throw.
Ashlee Lewis was utilising her strengths for UoN, making herself a target to find in the paint, as well as screening the defence. Her offensive rebounding was impressive, as she ensured UoN could retain the ball. She earned her side two more free throws, of which she scored one.
Abbey Whitehouse then made a driving run towards the basket, before feeding Sevval Istanbulluoglu to score for UoN.
Next, Josie Leavold made a brilliant steal for the Green and Gold, and she drew a foul meaning more free throws. She made the first, and although she missed the second, Lewis collected the ball on the rebound and scored.
UoN narrowly missed a buzzer-beater lay up following a lightning transition, but they were firmly in command of proceedings at the end of the first quarter, as they led 22-14.
In the second quarter, Trent started on top as they sought to get back into the game. Turner looped the ball into the basket inside the first 10 seconds of the quarter.
However, UoN very quickly regained control. A loose pass was intercepted, and the turnover was punished mercilessly by Whitehouse.
The Green and Gold were at times toying with their opponents with some of the passing moves on display. One such move saw Leavold move into the middle pocket to receive, before she gave Lewis another easy effort from close range.
Leavold was starting to dominate proceedings on the court at David Ross, as she followed that up with a three-pointer on the next play.
UoN were demonstrating their versatility to be both effective in the turnover and breaking down the set Trent defence, which set them apart from their opponents.
Macy Cook was brought onto the court and she was also playing well. She found the basket by charging down the right, and she was strong against her defender as she released the shot.
The highlight of that run was Cook with a brilliant drive to the basket
The Green and Gold then made it a 20 point game, as Lewis executed more free throws. In fact, they went on a 12 point scoring streak to run the score up to 45-19. The highlight of that run was Cook with a brilliant drive to the basket, making the layup and while being fouled and awarded a free throw for an “and one”.
Trent snapped the streak through a basket from Jordan Malone, but Alice Fallon went straight up the other end for UoN to cancel it out.
The Green and Gold had a dominant first half, which ended with them firmly in control with a 25 point lead at 49-24.
At the start of the third quarter, Trent knew that they had to improve to stand any chance of winning this match.
The quarter started with basket exchanges, before Rosie Porter did some impressive dribbling before finding Turner to sink a three-pointer. Porter then drove at Lewis, earning a foul, and she scored both free throws.
However, UoN continued with their impressive rebounding, and they cancelled out that basket immediately, as Grace Ashton picked up a rebound this time to score.
The quarter then continued with UoN playing in the same dominant fashion as they had before. Whitehouse scored a brilliant three-pointer, and they made it a 30 point game at one stage as the lead became 61-31.
Trent did pull the score back to 68-41, but they had an uphill battle in the second half as UoN were comfortably in control heading into the fourth quarter.
Trent needed a big final quarter to win the game, and their case wasn’t helped as a technical foul was called against them early on.
Iris Mendes for Trent was able to find space and she finished her layup well, but her basket was cancelled out by some good work by Leavold. Fallon then made a three from the top of the arc as UoN pressed home their advantage.
A long range pass from Whitehouse set Lewis free to the basket
The Green and Gold started to show off the range of their abilities. A long range pass from Whitehouse set Lewis free to the basket, and she finished excellently. Moments later, Naomi Marjolin was the recipient of an identical pass from Whitehouse, and she also converted, making the score 80-47 with four minutes to play.
Chow added to Trent’s woes, putting a final three pointer on the board, as the atmosphere ignited even more with UoN on the brink of lifting the trophy.
The contest finished 85-51 to the Green and Gold as the women rectified their defeat from last year’s Varsity with their supporters in the stands erupting in jubilation on the final buzzer.
The win extended UoN’s Varsity lead to 4-1.
Kian Gadsby and Sam Bunce
In article image 1 courtesy of @uonwb via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including uni news, reviews, entertainment, lifestyle, features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
For further sports content and ways to get involved, follow @ImpactSport on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Impact Sport Facebook page!
