Oaklands Wolves women heading to play-offs after Barking win

A 61-53 success at Barking Abbey guaranteed them a spot in the post-season play-offs.

The result also means that Claire Abbott's team added a season sweep against the east London side, having also beaten Reading Rockets twice and sealed the head-to-head against Itchen College (Solent).

They seem almost certain to finish third in the WEABL Southern Conference and will be set to visit either Manchester or Nottingham in the quarter-finals of England's highest level competition for U19s.

Rosie Porter of Oaklands Wolves. Picture: @GRAHAMHODGES3 (Image: @grahamhodges3)

Wolves only trailed in the early stages of the game, and back-to-back three-point plays from Rosie Porter saw them take a 11-7 lead with just over two first period minutes remaining and they led for the rest of the game. 

The visitors were 17-9 at the first break and were still ahead 30-23 going into the locker room at half-time.

Porter's lay-up saw them go into the final period 47-37 ahead before Lily Harness made it a 14-point game with six minutes on the clock.

The hosts had one more run in them as they cut the deficit to six with two minutes remaining before Caitlin Ryan's treble ended any thoughts of a comeback. 

Porter finished with a season-high 25 points and six rebounds, while captain Ryan had 10 points, six boards and a couple of assists.

Centre Cleo Lewis Gayle had 12 rebounds to go with her six points, while Amye Swinney had six points, five boards and three steals.

Wolves wrap up their regular season fixtures when they host title contenders City of London Academy Southwark.

Oaklands Wolves' return to WBBL action ended in disappointment as they went down 86-62 at Caledonia Gladiators.

Lee Ryan's side stayed in touch during the first half, trailing 45-38 going into the locker room at half-time.

But the big-spending Scottish side opened the third period on a 6-1 run, and although Jorjah Smith hit a triple, Wolves rarely got the deficit into single fingers as they trailed 64-52 at the final break and were outscored 22-10 in the fourth.

Wolves Shaq Wade led all scorers with 20 points, adding five rebounds and a couple of blocks while Allison Day had 13 points and five boards, and Caterrion Thompson finished with 11 points.

There was better news for Wolves' WNBL Division Two side as they kept their play-off hopes alive with a 61-52 home victory against Plymouth Patriots.

The hosts were without coach Claire Abbott and centre Cleo Lewis Gayle who were in Scotland with the WBBL team. and they trailed 18-16 at the first break.

But they took control and by the end of the third they had grew their lead to 47-36.

Caitlin Ryan led the scoring and Patriots for the second time this season, hitting five triples in her 21-point haul, while Rosie Porter added 12 and Ella Brown eight.      

Wolves men saw their relegation worries deepen with an 85-70 home loss against fellow strugglers Greenwich Titans.

Wolves made a disastrous start as they conceded the first 11 points, and it took more than five minutes before they got off the mark with a Daren Agbonogah triple.

They had cut the gap to 35-30 at half-time but an 11-3 end to the third quarter left them with too much to do.

La'Quarne Sayles led Wolves with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds while Oliver Rudzinski finished with 12 points and four boards. Lewis Thurlbourne also added 12 points, with Tega Agbede recorded 10 points.

The weekend wasn't any better for Wolves II as they went down 108-45 against Division Three title favourites Essex Rebels II.

Milic Pavic marked his 17th birthday with a team-high nine points.

Wolves U14 boys continued their play-off push with a 94-63 home win against Sevenoaks Suns the NBL East Premier.

Ibrahim Gariba’s side never looked in trouble against a short-handed Suns side, outscoring them in all four periods on the way to their 10th league win of the campaign.

Zac Butterworth led the hosts’ scoring with 18 points, with Liam Schertel adding 16 and Dylan Maisy hitting three triples during the first half.

The U14s also played their part as they provided three players for the U15s for the visit of Aylesbury Dux U16s winning an exciting game 83-77.

There was little to choose between the teams all game, and it was a 23-17 final period that proved to be the difference as Wolves collected their third league win of the season.

Jacob Edrupt led the way, dropping a pair of triples in his 19-point, eight rebound, eight assist, six steals game.

Billy Harmer finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks while Ethan Chung had 14 points and debutant Sam McRee had 11 boards and eight points.

The U16 boys produced a fighting performance against Haringey Heat but went down 70-49 in north London.

Wolves only trailed 17-14 at the first break but were outscored across the middle two quarters before edging the fourth, 19-18.

Otis Lau-Johnston again led George Walker’s team, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Lukas Nukey had eight points and as many boards along with two blocks.

Shaun Uzus added seven rebounds to his six points.

A 13-point, 10 rebound double-double from Rocky Starr wasn’t enough to prevent the U13 boys going down 77-36 at Cambridge Cats U14 Reds.

The visitors never recovered from a 40-13 first half, Danny Tsoustas getting seven points and six rebounds.

There was also disappointment for the U12 boys as they saw their title hopes end with a 77-52 home loss against champions-elect MK Breakers.

The visitors did the damage in the first half, turning a 22-9 opening quarter lead into a 49-18 advantage at half-time.

Tristan Ball led the hosts with 18 points, with Manuel Gracia-Peris adding 17 and Aiden Harriman eight.

The U14 girls also hosted Breakers in a game switched to Oaklands due to a lack of referees, but the benefit of a home game couldn’t prevent a 118-29 loss, with Jane Yu leading Wolves with 16 points

To complete a tough weekend against the Breakers, the U12 girls lost 52-30 in MK but had the consolation that the result was far closer than their previous meeting with them.

Rose Marsh led Wolves with 10 points, while Francesca Scott and Sophie Konte each added six as Oaklands outscored the hosts 14-7 in the final period.

The U16 girls also produced an improved performance when they travelled to Sussex Storm and went down 75-60 against a side who had beaten them by 38 at Oaklands earlier in the campaign.

With Jorjah Smith in Scotland with the WBBL team, Ibrahim Gariba stepped in as coach and after a poor first period which saw his side outscored 21-10, the rest of the game was competitive, with Wolves winning the final period 24-23.