A coach from Oaklands Wolves has been appointed boss of a GB basketball squad.

Elite Academy League and senior Division Three head coach Liam Jefferson will take charge of the British U16 boy' for the 2025 season.

He was an assistant coach to the GB U20 men’s side in 2023 and has more than a decade of coaching experience, starting as an assistant coach at the Loughborough Riders before moving to the London Lions youth academy and joining Wolves in the summer. 

The Wolves play-caller said: "It’s a real honour and one that I don’t take lightly.

"The work of the federation over the last couple of years make it an extremely exciting time to be involved and I hope to play a small part in continuing the momentum.

"We have a really intriguing group of players within this age group and I can’t wait to work with them, starting in January."

Wolves' head of basketball, Michael Ball, said: "The appointment of Liam as GB head coach is something we all feel proud of.

"In his first year at Oaklands his arrival has made an immediate impact with his attention to detail across all activities, his desire to deliver continuous improvement but also his selfless attitude on and off the court. 

"We realised that before Liam arrived we were getting a coach whose philosophy and modern approach to the game would fit right in but these first few months have only reinforced to me that he is ready to make a significant difference to GB’s International standing."

Wolves senior women's coach Lee Ryan is looking for a big crowd to help his side reach their first major final.

They host Essex Rebels in the Super League Women's Trophy semi-final on Saturday and the boss says it is "massive".

He said. "It’s a huge moment for us as an organisation. Essex showed us in last weekend's championship game that they have the players to hurt us and it will be a tough battle.

"But our home crowd could be the difference so hoping to see everyone there to cheers us all the way to Birmingham."

Saturday's league game saw Wolves beat the Rebels 85-73 in Colchester.

The home side had no answer to Dani McCray as she poured in 25 points, adding nine rebounds, five steals and two assists.

Shanice Beckford-Norton finished with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Abigail Rafferty added seven boards and two assists to her 12 points. 

Wolves found it tough going in the first half, and McCray's three-point only cut the deficit to 26-22 at the first break before Rebels outscored them 24-16 in the second quarter to lead 50-38 going into the locker room.

Whatever Ryan said at the half-time interval clearly worked and five McCray points plus four form Beckford-Norton in a 9-0 run saw the gap closed to 53-47 with four minutes gone. 

A Beckford-Norton and-one kept Wolves in touch before a Raffety lay-up and a Sam Ashby triple saw Wolves take a 61-60 lead with 71 third period seconds on the clock, and McCray's basket sent the visitors into the final break 63-62 ahead.

The opening six minutes of the fourth period proved key as Terri Battle hit five points and three straight Beckford-Norton free-throws capped a 16-3 run which effectively sealed the victory for the visitors.

There was also success for both of Wolves' men's sides as the Division Three team won 70-62 at Warwickshire Hawks and the Conference team defeated hosts Northamptonshire Titans II 69-56.

In a tight game throughout, Jefferson's team led 14-12 at the first break but went into the locker room trailing 29-28.

A 16-12 third quarter saw Wolves take a three point lead into the final break before wrapping up their third win of the campaign with a 26-21 final frame. 

Lore Adekeye led Wolves with 22 points, while three-point assassin Dan Kostadinov added 16 and recent signing Deji Adekunle 14 

A strong second half in Northampton saw a young Wolves side move up to sixth place in Pool 3. Having trailed 29-27 at half-time, Wolves tied the score at 45 going into the final period where they outscored the hosts 24-11 to wrap up the win. 

Wolves were led by 21 Kajus Gasperas points, with Stanley Mills adding 21 and Tristan McIntosh 11

It was a disappointing weekend for Wolves Division Two women's side as a pair of narrow defeats dented their play-off hopes.

They came up just short despite a late comeback at Solent Kestrels, going down 62-60 on Saturday, before finding an experienced Thames Valley Cavaliers side too tough as they lost 54-44 at home.

Wolves were 14-9 down after five minutes but added only two points in the rest of the first period to trail 22-11 at the first break.

They narrowed the gap to 36 -29 at half-time and were within a point midway through the third quarter.

Kestrels took the lead back out to 53-44 at the final break and were 58-51 ahead with five minutes left before Wolves came up just short with their comeback.

Amye Swinney led Wolves with a season-high 22 points, while Caitlin Ryan had a 17 point, 15 rebound double, adding four steals, three assists and as many blocks before fouling out with 2.1 seconds on the clock.

Darcey Woodman just missed out on a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Woodman's 15 points the following weren't enough as Cavs led throughout the game to inflict Wolves' second loss of the weekend. 

A slow start saw Wolves trail 8-2 after five minutes, and they were playing catch-up all game before going into the final break 39-29 down.

They managed to get within four points with three minutes on the clock before Cavaliers finished strongly.

Rhiana Redondo had 11 points and eight rebounds while Ryan had 11 boards, five assists and two steals.

It was a busy weekend for the Wolves academy as the U18 women won their top of the table clash against Brixton Topcats 59-46.

Both teams went into the game with perfect 4-0 records, and Wolves shaded the first period 14-12 before blowing the game open with a 20-7 second quarter to take a 17 point lead into the locker room.

Wolves' lead peaked at 22 points midway through the third period but Topcats fought back and got within five points down the stretch before three Imogen Baker baskets saw Wolves seal the win a move clear at the top of the table.

Baker led Wolves with 14 points, with Katie Nicholson adding 12.