Lightning claims the first ever win in the BWB Women’s Premier League
A historic fixture took place at the University of Worcester Arena on Saturday 22nd as Worcester Wolves and Loughborough Lightning competed in the first match of the inaugural BWB Women’s Premier League. The league is the first of its kind for women’s wheelchair basketball.
Worcester Wolves and Loughborough Lightning squads featured a blend of highly experienced players with promising young talent, demonstrating how key this league will be in developing the future of the GB Women’s team.
The arena crowd gave a huge welcome to the BWB Women’s Premier League as fans filled the stands. Loughborough came out on top in the first quarter 6-13. Lucy Robinson led as game scorer with 7 points in Q1.
Worcester gained momentum in the start of the second quarter as Jade Loughlin got 6 points in quick succession and began to test Loughborough’s defence. A combination of aggressive defensive and offensive manoeuvres proved a deadly combination as Loughborough won the first half 19-34.
Worcester returned with renewed energy, working tirelessly to shorten the distance between themselves and the visiting side. Loughborough’s Robyn Love capitalised on a Worcester foul at the end of the third quarter to end the quarter 34-50.
Laurie Williams and Siobhan Fitzpatrick both got 4 points each for Loughborough in the fourth quarter as their team took the win 41 – 58. Laurie was top performer in assists (10 assists), with Love close behind with 8 assists. Worcester Captain Sarah Hope had 2 steals and 8 rebounds during the game.
After the match, Worcester Wolves Jade Loughlin reflected on the game:
“We came out with a very great team, energetic. We came out with ideas of what we want to play and how we wanted to play, focused on that, and to be fair I couldn’t be prouder of the girls. We executed what we wanted to out of everything in that game.”
Loughborough Lightning’s Siobhan Fitzpatrick said:
“An absolutely amazing start for Loughborough Lightning against a fantastic team, Worcester Wolves. A great opportunity to showcase our sport. We got our first win of the league, we can’t complain. All of the girls had a great time on court, everyone played great minutes and contributed, and we just can’t wait to build on that.”
In their next fixtures, Loughborough Lightning head to East London Phoenix 12th February, and Worcester Wolves have their first away match against Cardiff Met Archers 12th February.
Next weekend, East London Phoenix and Cardiff Met Archers join Worcester and Loughborough as founding members of the BWB Women’s Premier League, with Cardiff heading to UEL 28th January (live on BWB YouTube). Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/east-london-phoenix-fixtures-tickets-170306614669
BWB WPL Fanzone: https://britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/womens-premier-league/
