Shropshire Warriors Vs Birmingham Force.
A quick caveat before you read any of this match report, no matter how eloquent I manage to be I’m not going to do this game justice. If you were there you know and if you weren’t, well you’re a lesser person for not having the experience but we won’t hold it against you.
First I’ll set the scene; before the start of this season I was enjoying the hospitality of our point guard Michelle and fiancé/committed supporter Andy, we sat around a real fire when Michelle looked at me and asked ‘do you think we could win the league next season?’ Not one to sit on the fence I said that I thought we could but Force were a strong team and we couldn’t forget about Aztecs (now Big Sky Ladies) and Redditch…oh and Warley were tough last year being the only team that beat us twice…and you never know with the Uni teams what players they will have. Obviously spurred on by my unwavering optimism Michelle got a gleam of determination in her eyes and announced ‘I think we can and I really want to win it’.
Michelle was 1 of 9 Warriors that kept that gleam of determination in their eyes for the last 7 months as all the other teams in the league didn’t know what hit them, in the 76 quarters of basketball we had played so far we only lost 5 and had been winning by an average of 34 points. We lost our first real test of the season against Big Sky Ladies in a nail biter by just 1 point, we could make excuses but ultimately they beat us and it made us even more determined to win every game from that point on. We got our revenge when they visited our court, they brought an even stronger squad than we had first played but we still stormed to a 20 point victory.
Too nervous to just pace around at home I arrived at the court around 6.50 almost one and a half hours before the game was due to tip off, I put out all the chairs that I could along the side of the court which was a good job as 50+ friends, family and fellow Warriors soon filled them. Hayley was the first player to arrive and it was a relief to see she had managed a whole weekend of basketball at Caister injury free. I was not the only nervous one, Michelle arrived and as we walked towards each other she put her hand up and just said ‘don’t say anything!’ A few made baskets calmed the nerves a little and we exchanged tales of sleepless nights and missed meals since our last game 3 days ago.
For several years now Birmingham Force have been league champions and deservedly so, in fact when we beat them at TCAT last year it was their first loss in something like 3 seasons. Coming into this game we were tied at the top of the table with 1 loss each, we had lost by 1 point to Big Sky Ladies early in the season but just 3 weeks earlier we had travelled to Force’s home court and inflicted their first loss by a resounding 18 points. This was the last game of the whole season; whoever won would be crowned league champions and hold the bragging rights for the next 12 months.
First Quarter.
Force were fielding 2 talented players that were familiar to us but had been unavailable in our previous encounter, W.Shepard an accomplished post player that would give our inside players pause for thought and G.Salmon a lightning quick guard that was also scaring defences in the national league playing for Black Country Bears.
Sally worked her magic and we got possession from the tip but after some good ball movement we failed to score on our first offence. As Birmingham brought the ball up court they felt for the first time the thunder of the home support with chants of ‘Defence!’ reverberating around the hall, despite this they got the first point of the game with a freethrow. Hayley got us going when she scored on our next offence and both teams went back and forth trading baskets for the next 5 minutes neither team able to get an advantage the score delicately poised 9-8. Hayley once again gave us a spark on offence knocking down a 3 pointer, this was followed by a couple of quick baskets by Millie before Hayley hit another 3 and Michelle got in on the act with a 3 of her own and her trademark skip as the ball went through the net. By the end of the quarter our good shooting had allowed us to pull away 24-16.
Second Quarter.
All season long our defence had tormented the opposition pressuring shooters and stifling any inside threat, no other team has been able to match this intensity; or that was the case until Force showed just why they were reining league champions in the second quarter. Force’s defence started to push us away from the basket and our comfort zone making it hard to link up with the drive and dish which had been a feature of our offence, we were still putting points on the board but not with the frequency of the first quarter. Missing shots and being out of position for the rebound gave Birmingham the opportunity to fast break and in G.Salmon they had the perfect player to do so, Michelle got back and put pressure on every attempt but the Force number 12 was too good in the open court to be stopped by just 1 player, Millie also picked up her 3rd foul but Mary ably stepped in from the bench as cover. Whenever we got back on defence and Birmingham had to play a half court offence we were as effective as ever by virtue of our work rate, our own fast breaking was stifled by the need to box out and take care of the ball but when Sarah hit a shot from her favourite position in the corner we had reached half time still ahead 36-31.
Third Quarter.
Half time was not full of tactical x’s and o’s for the most part defence was doing its job, offensively we had to make sure we kept cutting and replacing to put some movement into our play and keep the Force defence honest having to play us straight up rather than having the luxury of sagging and helping. Force had talented players and so did we; the bottom line was who wanted it more?
Sally benefited most from the halftime rest scoring 6 of our first 8 second half points but G.Salmon’s influence on the game was increasing as she blazed up court drive after drive to level the score at 44 each. Millie edged us ahead again with a 3 pointer but we traded the lead between us for the rest of the quarter until Force had a narrow 52-53 advantage.
Fourth Quarter.
By the fourth quarter days of nervous anticipation and 3 quarters of an extremely high paced game began to take it’s toll as first Millie then Sarah and Michelle pulled up with cramp. Force I’m sure were suffering just as much but they crept ahead 1 basket at a time until with 5 minutes to go they held a 7 point lead 54-61, the season was slipping away but that gleam of determination and the roar of friends and family spurred us on as we switched defence to man for man and went for it. Sarah made the extra effort to team up with Michelle covering G.Salmon on the fast break and as Michelle slowed her down Sarah blocked the lay-up attempts.
On offence we gained an advantage as W.Shephard picked up her 5th foul for Force and their 5th team foul. Hayley and Millie split their freethrows on consecutive possessions to make the score 58-63, Rachel powered to the basket for 60-63 and as Michelle fed the ball to Millie on the fast break for 62-63 we had momentum. Our defence did it’s job regaining the ball and Hayley found herself on the freethrow line, as the first shot left her hand it didn’t feel right and she said ‘off, sorry!’ but the ball hit the front of the rim then the backboard before dropping good tying the score, the second freethrow wasn’t in doubt and we had our lead back with 2 minutes to play.
Force are not a team to give up and came right back at us, G.Bradley-Adams got to the basket to score whilst getting fouled on the play hitting the bonus freethrow for a 64-66 lead. Hayley once again got to the line on our next offence and was beginning to like it there once again hitting both foul shots 66-66. Our defence did it’s job lifted by the crowd and after moving the ball around Hayley got to the basket and put us in front 68-66. G.Salmon replied almost immediately slashing through players for a layup and balancing the game going into the final minutes play 68-68. Force did a good job blunting the initial threats of Hayley and Millie but the key to our success has been our depth, the ball found it’s way to Rachel who has been a rock in the second half of the season and she didn’t let us down powering the ball in 70-68. The hall was almost deafening as the chants and clapping from the crowd spurred our defence to that last bit of effort and it did the job as we got the ball back. With time running down we moved the ball and Birmingham were forced to foul Michelle and sent her to the line with 9.5 seconds left, 7 months earlier in front of that real fire I doubt Michelle could have dreamed it would all come down to this. Michelle took the first of her 2 shots and it bobbled about before dropping, the second was short but that extra point meant the threat of G.Salmon had been blunted, only a 3 pointer would send the game into overtime with us ahead 71-68. Force took possession of the ball at the sideline, our defence worked hard pressuring every player as they caught the ball, with about 3 seconds left the ball made its way to Haseena a 3 point specialist that had been relatively quiet all game, as two Warriors ran out Haseena let fly and the whole gym watched the ball drop long but a shrill whistle delayed any celebrations, the refs had spotted a foul as the shot went sending Haseena to the foul line with 2 seconds left and the opportunity to send the game to overtime with 3 foul shots. It wasn’t to be for Haseena or the Force, she missed her first two freethrows hitting the 3rd for a score of 71-69. We inbounded the ball and held on to it for the sweetest of victories as players and fans stormed the court at the final buzzer to celebrate.
Conclusion.
First a big thanks to the players of Birmingham Force who were so gracious in defeat and who have been such deserving champions in previous seasons. Also thank you to the various officials that have helped out all season long, the supporters and of course Tom & Judith.
There were 9 Warriors that played this game but they were not the only players to contribute this season, in all we had 16 different players took part in at least 1 game including Natalie, Cheryl, Jo Massam, Fran, Jo Broughton, Jo Noble, Nicola and Freya. Beyond that we also had 2 Warriors that were just as much part of the team; Zellah and Miz decided at the start of the season that as we had a lot of players they would step aside and train with us but not play in the games, their winning smiles and vocal support have been a feature of many a home game.
The final game of the season was a vignette of what we have been through as a team, 9 players working extremely hard for each other and towards the goal of winning 1 game at a time and ultimately the league. As a coach I couldn’t have asked for a group of players with more talent, commitment, self sacrifice and determination who also gave their support to me personally all season long, I’m proud of what we achieved but I would have been just as proud to be called your coach had we come up short. I’m not awarding a player of the game award, this game more than any other we were a team and we won as a team.
Hayley 25, Millie 18, Sally 12, Rachel 8, Michelle 4, Sarah 2, Mary 2
MAtch Report: Terry Sanders
Photos: Carsten Dieterich
