As Endeavour Ipswich Basketball Club’s Senior Women’s team embark on another season in the top flight of the National League, the club's fanbase and the wider English basketball community will have front row seats to yet another ‘new look’ Ipswich team in the WNBL.
The 24/25 iteration of Ipswich shapes up as a potential fourth golden generation in a decade. Before looking ahead to the upcoming season, we look back at the acts this new side must follow.
'Golden Generation' One: 2017/18
A treble-winning, undefeated season that included defeating four Division One teams, all on the road, on their way to upsetting the then top team in WNBL Division One Essex Blades (now Rebels). That team included Maya Price, now a Eurocup Winner, NCAA Conference Player of the Year and GB Senior International, and Ashleigh Pink, four-year NCAA Division Two graduate with Barry University and GB U16 & U18 International. Some familiar names such as Welham, Linton, Cazey and Little were also major players on that time – that also boasted some very young bench players by the names of Taylor-Willis and Pearson!
'Golden Generation' Two: 2019/20 & 2020/21
Covid meant that there wasn’t a WNBL Division One Playoff Champion in 2020, or a National Cup in 2021. So… across these two seasons there were a grand total or four national trophies up for grabs… Ipswich won three of them. Winning the league in both seasons and making it a league and playoff double in 2021 signed off the Ipswich careers of the likes of Esther Little and Ella Pearson in style. Following this, Harriet would move to France to play professionally, Danni would take a break from basketball while CTW would play one more year with the club before starting University down the road in Essex.
'Golden Generation' Three: 2023/2024
While there was less success at senior level during the 21/22 and 22/23 seasons, this forced the next generation of academy stars to be thrown in to the deep end, playing weekly against top level senior talent. This equipped the group brilliantly, leading them to win a national league and cup double at u18 level. However, it was the following season when Harriet and Danni returned to the club, that Coach Drane was able to mix two great generations of players into one – creating another championship winning team. Liv Forster, often the headline act despite her young age, combined with Welham to form the league’s most potent duo, while Christabel Osarobo, Louisa Gibbins and Yazmin Edwards provided an exceptional level of energy and excitement. The team found themselves topping the league early in the season, and defied the odds with several difficult road wins in the cup to find themselves in Manchester in January. A famous cup win, followed by a league championship cemented this groups place as one of the great teams in recent national league history. Even if the team sadly couldn’t become the first team to win a WNBL league, cup and playoff treble, losing on the final game of the season to a talented CoLA side.
'Golden Generation' Four?
Perhaps it is too early to put that pressure on this group, but if history is anything to go by the team that Coach Drane has assembled for 24/25 looks to be one that will again challenge teams in the league this season, even if Drane is calling it a ‘transitional year’.
Ipswich have lost the services of four of Drane’s six highest minutes players from last season, with only Harriet Welham and Louisa Gibbins returning – although that’s a pretty good starting point! Christabel Osarobo, Liv Forster and Yazmin Edwards are all now playing Stateside, while Danni Cazey is currently overseas. As ever, Ipswich have primarily replaced from within the junior programme. DeAnna Carrington and Cerys Leach both made a impact at senior level last season, despite being first year academy players, and will be expected to take on bigger roles this season. New academy recruits include GB u18 Maisie Keyes (Manchester) and GB u16 Holly Ensoll (Kingston) as well as National Team players Kaiya Bateman (Milton Keynes) and Angel Whyte (Bristol). All of these newcomers will go straight into the senior squad, while Ipswich product Kara Bassil, who got a taste at senior level last season, will be expected to step up this season. However, arguably the most significant recruits that have been added to the roster are Maddy Wormald and Vicky Gray, both experienced players who have played at the professional level.
Many Ipswich followers will remember Vicky Gray, She played for a number of seasons at Nottingham Trent, and was part of the only team to win at Copleston during the 2020/21 season. She has been playing professionally in the Cayman Islands for the past three seasons and has also previously played in the WBBL and for the GB U20’s. Vicky’s experience and high pedigree will be a major factor in any success Ipswich has this season.
Maddy Wormald joins the team as the clubs ‘Import Player’ for the 2024/2025 season. Maddy has previously played NBL in Australia, and has recently relocated to Ipswich having previously played for both West Adelaide Bearcats and Mount Gambier Pioneers. Maddy is a versatile player that can help a team in a number of ways, most notably with her outside shooting and strong leadership skills.
“In my experience, when almost a whole generation moves on, it takes a season to acclimatise before the next group are ready to win trophies at senior level. But with that said, I don’t think we have even recruited two senior players of the pedigree of Maddy and Vicky before. Both are high character players, still in their prime, with an understanding of what is expected of an Ipswich player on and off the court. With Harriet, Louisa, Maddy and Vicky as established seniors, I think we can be very competitive right away. We know that Cerys and DeAnna are ready for the next step, and I am excited to see what the incoming academy girls can bring to the team. Maisie, in particular, is a really exciting talent who I think is ready to help right away having started for the GB U18’s this summer. Holly, Kara, Kaiya and Angel are all also more than capable of developing into excellent players at this level”. Said Head Coach Nick Drane. He added “A lot of people thought we would never get back to the top of the mountain after Esther, Ella and Cameron left – but along came Liv, Christabel, Yaz and Louisa. I love the challenge to finding out who’s next”.
Last season saw one of the most competitive seasons ever in Division One, with a number of teams taking games off each other. No doubt Ipswich will be hoping for a run in the national cup, and a high seed heading into the post season.
It’s also worth noting that a team Coached by Nick Drane and captained by Harriet Welham has won WNBL Division One in all three of their last three seasons together (with a record of 63-9 in all competitions during that time). Throw in a playoff crown and a national cup during that time, and there is no reason to believe that this team will be anything other than a force to be reckoned with in the 2024/2025 season.
Find out where and when to catch the team this season below:
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