Team Sunderland Women's Basketball 1sts beaten by Sheffield 1sts in thriller

Team Sunderland Women's Basketball 1sts lost 49-57 at home to Sheffield 1sts on Wednesday November 28 at CitySpace.

The home side were on top for large periods and led at the end of the first, second and third quarters before Sheffield staged a dramatic fightback late on.

The Wearsiders edged a tight, low-scoring first quarter 12-9 as both sides looked to maintain a solid defensive shape early on.

Sunderland were pressing with higher intensity and marking Sheffield players tightly to cut out passing lanes.

This was a tactic coach Harry Wood said the team had worked on in training.

It led to them scoring a lot of two-pointers by winning possession from Sheffield and catching them out with a swift counter-attack.

This saw the home side go into the half-time break after the second quarter with a 28-24 lead.

This high-energy approach, led by the top basket scorer in the match Magdalena Cybulska, saw Sunderland earn an 11-point lead mid-way through the third quarter.

While a strong finish to the quarter by the away side reduced the gap, Sunderland still held a 43-38 advantage going into the final quarter.

There were signs towards the end of the third quarter that The Wearsiders were beginning to tire as they were unable to press and mark as tightly as they had been.

The Yorkshire outfit dominated the final quarter by tearing through a fatigued Sunderland defence to complete a superb turnaround and win 57-49.

Number seven Naho Fukhi was at the heart of a lot of the 19 points scored by Sheffield in the fourth quarter, making several superb driving runs with the ball to score.

Sunderland now sit sixth in the 10 team BUCS Northern 2B league, while Sheffield climb to 2nd.

Teams:

Sunderland 1sts: (1)Katleen Mangat, (4)Einhi Vlackodinuou, (5)Caitlyn Owen, (6)Mildred Lee(C), (9)Valerie Ray-Oleru, (10)Martina Gouda, (11)Grace Wilkins, (13)Magdalena Cybulska, (14)Katie Hughes.

Sheffield 1sts: (4)Kirara Mihara, (6)Emme Trenchard-Mole, (7)Naho Fukhi, (8)Emily Swanborough(C), (9)Nikkita Chandar, (10)Olivia Johnson, (13)Laurel Seed, (15)Chrsitina Latzourali.