The Endeavour Ipswich Basketball Club Senior Women tasted defeat for the first time since November in Bristol on Saturday and in doing do so all but handed the regular season title to one of their rivals. The loss broke a sixteen-game winning streak in league and cup competition for the Suffolk side, who now have four losses on the season, having started the campaign 4-3. However, the loss means that team now have a total of four on the season, one more than CoLA and the same amount as Brent, with CoLA holding the head-to-head. This means that Ipswich now need to win their remaining games and need CoLA to lose both of their remaining games to retain the regular season crown and secure the #1 seed for the playoffs. The game itself saw Ipswich struggle to find their feet after the long road trip, and with Bristol firing on all cylinders having finally got their entire roster fit and healthy, the home side were deserving winners, batting away every Ipswich comeback with a barrage of three-pointers and inside moves. Ipswich got a superb display from the returning Maddy Wormald as well as valuable minutes from young Angel Whyte, playing against her old club – but it was not enough as the Flyers were deserving winners 79-67.
There was no time to rest for Ipswich who were back on court less than 24 hours later, hosting the talented Loughborough Riders back in Suffolk. Much like Bristol the day before, Loughborough started the game with a hot hand and quickly opened up a double-digit lead. However, with a large crowd inside Copleston, behind a vintage Harriet Welham performance, Ipswich turned things around in the second quarter as the home team won the period 27-11, and lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game on their way to a 97-73 win. Welham’s extraordinary forty-one point performance was her best of the season, supported by twenty point off the bench from Hannah Gray in a rounded team performance.
Ipswich now sit at 17-4 on the season, almost certainly handing the regular season title and number one seed to CoLA, who the Suffolk side now need to lose to both Manchester and Brent in their final two games, both of which are at home where they are undefeated in league play all season. It is worth noting that even if Ipswich had won all their remaining games, including Bristol on Saturday, CoLA held their head-to-head advantage, meaning finishing first was unlikely.
However, second is also not guaranteed for Ipswich. A loss next weekend in their final game of the regular season at Loughborough, or if Brent win at CoLA by five or more points, and win their remining games would see the Bulls take the league title, CoLA finish second and Ipswich drop to third… In a long season, Ipswich are paying the price for a slow start to the season, but one loss in eighteen games makes them a formidable opponent for anyone in the playoffs.
There hasn’t been a WNBL D1W season like this for some time, with three teams still with a mathematical chance of winning the league title with two weekends to play. A great advert for the women’s game.