WORCESTER Wolves head coach Lucas Warburton said his young side were capable of ‘great things’.
His prediction comes after Wolves beaten by reigning Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Premier League champions Loughborough Lightning last Friday, during which several of his younger players showed ‘great fight’ in the second half.
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The Wolves penultimate fixture of the season saw them lose 26-76 to Loughborough, who remain on course to finish top of the Women’s Premier League table for a third season running.
Worcester now face a potential final-day battle for third place against Cardiff Met Archers at the University of Worcester Arena next month.
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The hosts struggled to cope with the champions’ lightning-fast break early on in Friday’s game, with Laurie Williams and Robyn Love in particular finding joy as they raced into a 24-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Worcester, by contrast, were reduced to speculative outside shots under pressure from an aggressive Loughborough defence.
The trend continued into the second quarter, with Lightning’s Holly Lounds and Anastasia Blease coming off the bench to help themselves to 13 points between them and give Loughborough a 43-10 halftime lead.
Worcester’s Niamh Horan managed to find more joy underneath the opposing basket in the second quarter, however, as the hosts started to find a way through Loughborough’s half and full-court presses more regularly.
Warburton’s side managed to make a fight of the third quarter with their younger players in particular shining as they were able to more easily work their way into Loughborough’s key and secure higher-quality shooting opportunities.
They were also working their way through the court much more smoothly – a particularly impressive play saw Ellan Fraser’s tireless pick-and-roll efforts break down Loughborough’s press and gave Jade Loughlin the freedom of the left wing to post an easy lay-up.
But Loughborough regained control of the game in a low-scoring final quarter, with Lounds again showing her impressive scoring skills to secure a 50-point win for her side.
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Loughborough’s Robyn Love was the game’s top-scorer in two categories, notching 23 points and 11 assists for the champions.
Wolves youngster Elana Brand was her side’s top scorer with six points.
Lucas Warburton told the Observer: “In the third quarter we started to show a bit of a fight back, our younger players like Elana Brand and Lillie Hickman came into their own and it was great to see they were able to make themselves known.”
A win for the Wolves against Cardiff on Saturday, April 27 could secure the side’s first-ever third-place finish in the Women’s Premier League table, with the Welsh outfit having to travel to two-time champions Loughborough in their final game.
Warburton added: “Heading into the Cardiff game, we need everyone continuing to buy into what we’re looking to do, if we stick together over the next month and develop our game we’ll do great things.”
