Winning Weekend for our Academy Sides v Saracens Mavericks & Central Warriors

Last weekend our academy teams were in action in the penultimate matches of the league season, with the U17s facing Saracens Mavericks and our U19s and U21s facing Central Warriors.  All 3 teams came away with the win and you can read out match reports from the players below.

U17 Match report written by Brogan Bostock

London Pulse 43 – Mavericks 42

The U17 London Pulse team travelled to Queenswood School on Saturday 18 March to play U17 Saracens Mavericks. It was going to be a highly competitive match as both teams were currently undefeated in the NPL U17 league.

London Pulse went into the game feeling well prepared and confident knowing that the winning team would move to the top of the south NPL U17 table.

Starting Line-up:

GS – Coco Williams

GA – Ella Christopherson

WA – Daisy Beer

C – Brogan Bostock

WD – Ella-Rose Bloomfield-Bowmaker

GD – Ellie Sadler

GK – Zaneya Cunningham

Bench – Sadie Clemence, Holly Todd, Katie Ford, Azara Wilmot, Alette Ganyushin

Both teams came out fighting from the start of Q1. Pulse had a strong through court pressure meaning Ellie and Zaneya could win ball at the back. Pulse struggled to bring the ball through court at the beginning but settled as the quarter went on. Pulse pushed through the quarter and with Coco shooting 100% it gave them a narrow lead of 2 goals with the quarter score being 13-11 to Pulse.

No changes were made for the start of Q2.

Pulse started the quarter hoping to gain a further lead, but Mavericks made this difficult for them. During the quarter, Alette entered the mid court at WD helping add to the defensive pressure and Sadie entered the court at GA helping to settle the attack. Pulse won the quarter by 1 goal resulting in a half time score of 23-20 to Pulse.

No changes were made for start of Q3.

Q3 saw Pulse defence being relentless in their play giving the attack plenty of opportunities to gain a further lead. Halfway through the quarter, Ella B returned to the court again at WD helping to get more turnovers. The Mavericks defence worked hard but Pulse were clever in their play being safe with the ball. This was an outstanding quarter for both Pulse shooters shooting at 100%. Pulse worked hard to win the third quarter with the overall score being 37-33 to Pulse.

No changes for the start of Q4.

Pulse came out with a strong start at the beginning of Q4 getting a further lead. Mavericks did not end without a fight getting closer to Pulse’s score. Zaneya getting injured saw Katie Ford coming on as GD getting her U17 NPL debut and Ellie moving back to GK. Ella C also entered the court again at GA being smart in her decisions. Shortly after, Azara got her U17 NPL debut at GK with Ellie moving back out to GD. With not long left of the game, the score was tight. During the quarter, Mavericks managed to level the score and had the centre pass, but the continuous pressure of Pulse defence meant that they could regain possession and took back control of the game. Pulse were patient in their play bringing the ball through court safely and maintaining possession. The quarter ended with a final score of 43-42 to Pulse.

The team were very proud to grind out the win, celebrating U17 Pulse debuts, winning three out of four quarters and getting eleven players on the court. Opponents player of the match and coaches player of the match went to Coco Williams for her excellent performance showing strong determination throughout the game and shooting 35/38 goals at 92%.

This young team refuse to lose, and it was a huge team effort. With 9 out of 12 squad members being U15 we are excited to reflect, learn and keep developing as we prepare to face Severn Stars in the closing U17 NPL round on the 1st April.

Thank you to Saracens Mavericks for an intense and well contested match. Also, a big thank you to the coaches, support team, parents, umpires and officials and everyone who came to cheer on London Pulse.

U19 Match Report by Sophia Shalabi

London pulse 50 – Central Warriors 37

After a strong week of training and friendlies pulse were ready to face their next top of the table clash against Central warriors. Going 7 from 7 all eyes were of pulse to deliver so the team had to put in a strong performance to secure the win and keep them top of the table.

Starting Seven was as follows: Hanna A Hannah G Sophia S Hannah k Izzi P Darcie E Tami F Bench: Amani K, Ronnie T, Sasha H, Jess S, Claudia B

It was clear in the first quarter that pulse felt the pressure to perform, a few errors in the first few mins saw pulse down 5-0 against a slick Warriors side. But still the pulse defence wanted to mark their authority and were able to get turnovers to bring pulse back in but they struggled to find the lead and went into quarter time 14-9 down.

Changes for second quarter Sophia S and Hannah K switch and Sasha was introduced at GD and Darcie back on at GK. Pulse slowly started to come back in the second quarter showing great grit and determination. Once again the defence were showing their dominance with a total of 13 turnovers being made, but struggled to take them to goal. Nevertheless, pulse took a 12-8 quarter win which meant it was a one goal game going into half time.

No changes for the pulse at half time. Going into the third quarter pulse knew it was level and this was their time to prove why they were top of the table. And they certainly did! With incredible fight and resilience and attack and defence creating turnover and shooters having 80% on the shooting stats, the pulse bench were on their feet. This stormer of a quarter saw pulse take the lead 37-29

No changes for pulse going into the final quarter. Pulse has to finish strong and fight to the very end as they knew the strength of Central Warrior. The girls-maintained possession and converted turnovers and centre passes safely. A mix of flare and clinical play saw pulse take the win to finish the game 50-37.

Player of the match went to the relentless captain Izzi Philips who never backed down from the challenge and fought hard throughout the game! Coming out with countless turnovers and was always an option to reset the play and take a breath.

London Pulse were very proud of their performance and look forward to their final match on the 1st of April where they face Leeds Rhinos in Nottingham.

U21 Match report by Beth Long

Central Warriors 38 – London Pulse 43

Starting 7

GK Isla

GD Funmi

WD Jade

C Ellie

WA Bethany

GA Berri

GS Freya

Subs: Tilly, Sasha, Emily, Grace, Suzie

The U21 squad travelled up to Birmingham University to play Central Warriors, Central Warriors sat 2nd in the table. Going into the game, the team knew this was going to be a very well-contested game with highs and lows throughout.

Q1. At the start of the 1st quarter, Central Warriors came out fighting, whereas Pulse eased into the with a slower start, Throughout the quarter the defence of Funmi and Isla started killing their attack by applying a lot of pressure. The attack started reading the game better later on. The end of Q1 finished with a score of 12-10 to Central Warriors.

Q2. Funmi and Isla switched positions. At the start of the 2nd Quarter Pulse came out with a bang, scoring their first goal and then converting Central Warriors first centre by Bethany running out on their CP and tipping the ball leading to their WA to get called up for footwork. Throughout the 2nd quarter, the pulse remained on top. The defence remained with their strong start, Funmi blocking shots and Ellie and Jade applying too much pressure on the centre circle, picking up and converting the ball. Freya and Berri were a super duo in the circle, not being fazed by Central Warriors flying defence. The end of the 2nd quarter finished 18-24 to London Pulse.

Q3. No changes. Pulse had the first CP which went straight to the goal. Central Warriors also scored their first goal. This quarter was very well-contested with both teams turning over the ball. The defence was constantly turning over the ball from rebounds of the post. the 3rd quarter finished 26-34 to London Pulse.

Q4. No changes. Warriors converted our 1st CP and followed up with a goal. They then score their CP. Pulse then came out fighting to score their CP, with a lovely mid-range shot from Freya. Their mid-court made it challenging with pulse, finding their holding shooter in the circle. However, Pulse stayed composed and resilient. Leaving the final score to be 38-43 to Pulse!!

The opposition player of the match went to Freya for her unstoppable shooting and Ellie received coaches player of the match for working extremely hard and fast even when she was feeling under the weather in the game.

Thank you Central Warriors U21 for greatly contested game. Thank you to the officials and umpires and lastly a big thank you to everyone who came to Birmingham to support the team on their win.