A very tense game tonight for the seconds with a really close final score of 40-41 against Cody Cobras...pipped at the last post literally! 

Some really great play from all the girls though and hopefully we can take all of the good stuff through to next weeks game.

Man of the match goes to Jenny Clayton who threw some awesome balls into the circle, showed off some cracking shooting and impressed us with her gymnastic skills by doing the splits! 
Also well done to Michelle, Grace and Chloe who didn't let their height stop them from reaching those balls...to quote Girls Aloud "JUMP for my love"

Great job girlies!

Well done to the seconds for their win tonight against Bugs 2...final score 30-28! A slightly questionable game but we managed to cling on to the win....go girls!! Man of the match goes to Sophie for giving it her all for the whole game.

Unlucky tonight girls...the 2nds played a great game against the Panthers and despite struggling to get a team together, had a respectable final score of 27-32!! Man of the match goes to Carole....you showed us all how it's done! Well played all.

Basingstoke 2 vs The Witches
In what was no doubt the toughest game of the summer league so far, Basingstoke 2 got off to a strong start against the Witches. After some great teamwork in the circle from Jen C and Nat, the goals were flooding in, and with some great defence from Jen L, Michelle and newcomer Sophie the team finished the first quarter with a strong 10 goal lead.

The second quarter stayed strong with the girls getting into the pace of the game. In attack, Teresa and Jen C fed some great lobs into the circle, with only a few 'she's had too much weetabix' moments! There were lots of 'almost' interceptions with the team flying around all over the court - if only we were all a few inches taller. Shout out goes to Michelle who despite having a shooter remarkably taller than her was getting some serious air and stealing those balls!

By the third sitting, the opposition seemed to have sussed Basingstoke and were predicting a lot of their plays, forcing the girls to switch up their strategy with some clever passing into and around the circle from Siobhan and Leanne. The scoring seemed to slow down but good defensive pressure from all the players stopped the WItches from closing in too much. 

The fourth quarter saw for some tense moments with the Witches closing the goal difference at one stage to only 2 points. After some slightly questionable passes and a rather scrappy sense of play, the girls managed to pull it back thanks to some solid shooting from Siobhan and Nat aka 'Freaky arms', leaving a final score of 45-41!

Three wins in a row - great work girls!

Basingstoke 2 vs The Professionals 
After last week's win, the girls were feeling the pressure to repeat the same success. With a slightly frustrating start, after missing more than a few consecutive shots, the girls soon found the right pace and took a strong lead. After a few weeks off, Jen C quickly slipped back into the flow of things and her & Nat worked up a real storm in the circle. As always Jen L and Michelle had a great defensive presence at the other end of the court, keeping out lots of potential goals from the opposition.

Despite parts of the game where play was particularity scrappy, including a lot of over-crowding on parts of the court, things did smooth out with some great passes down the centre court thanks to Teresa, Kayleigh and Siobhan, and some even better movement in the circle between Jen C and Nat. First timer Sophie played her part well in driving the ball down the court and putting pressure on the other team, helping Basingstoke to turnover many of the opponents centre passes.  

The rest of the game saw Basingstoke boost their goal lead even further with a more comical sense of play. There were a lot of keen players on the centre passes causing simultaneous breaking, some crazy inspector gadget arms from Nat saving the most difficult of balls, and some super-quick passes in and out of the circle which meant Leanne nearly took a ball to the face on more than one occasion!

Overall a great match which ended 66-24 - possibly more goals than we scored for the whole of last season! Well done girls!

Final Score: 66-24

Post written by Leanne Longhurst

Basingstoke 2 vs Clyde
The first match of the summer league was a great opportunity for Basingstoke Second's to show off yet another new-line up, and wash off the disappointment from what proved to be a very tough Winter Season. After watching the First team dominate their summer league opening match to win 55-33, the expectations were set even higher, especially for new captain Kayleigh. 

The match got off to a strong start, with Basingstoke taking the first few goals with some excellent shooting from Nat and Sue. With Basingstoke setting the pace of the game, a strong defence from Teresa, Jen C and Michelle saw opposing team Clyde struggle to keep up the score. With a few suggestions from the opposition that we were taking it a bit too seriously, the team was buzzing to extend our lead for the rest of the match! 

Moving into the second quarter things became a bit more hectic, with Basingstoke struggling to hold a steady pace and allowing Clyde to start closing the goal difference. With 'footwork' and 'contact' being called all over the court the girls struggled to keep solid possession of the ball, but with great movement in the circle still managed to get those all important goals. 

The slightly hap-hazard play calmed down for the third quarter with Kayleigh taking the Centre position and successfully slowing the pace of the game. Jen L joined the team and along with first timer Grace provided a strong defence with some great movement down the court, helping to boost the goal difference to 24-15 by the end of the quarter. 

By the final quarter, the line-up seemed to be working well with some great movement into and around the circle from Siobhan, Nat, Kayleigh and Leanne. Despite a few weaker passes and some questionable footwork, Stoke managed to keep possession and increase the goal difference to give a final score of 30-20. 

Overall a great game and hopefully the first of many wins in the summer league!

Final Score: 30-20 

Post written by Leanne Longhurst

Basingstoke vs Veet Supremes
A closely fought game with almost goal for goal action in the first half that saw Veet’s 15-12 first quarter lead cut to just 1 goal at half time as Basingstoke battled back (27-26). A great 3rd quarter for Basingstoke saw them lead 41-35 but the final quarter saw Veet battle back to within 1 goal.

Basingstoke have had a tough season in the Reading league but were pleased to finish our last match with a well deserved win!

Well done to team captain, Sue Willcock, who was awarded player of the match for Basingstoke.

Final Score: 50 v 49

Team - GS - Sue Willcock, GA- Jo Laffoley , WA - Kayleigh Hurton, C-Ann Jones, WD – Izzy Harp , GD- Tracey Lowther, GK -  Liz McGill,  Sub -Leanne Longhurst

Basingstoke vs Team Rock
A fairly close 1st quarter but Moves found their rhythm to pull away and lead 33-21 at half time. Although Moves kept their lead in the 3rd quarter, Basingstoke fought hard to close the gap, capitalising on their opportunities; but Moves were too strong and pulled away again in the final quarter to take a convincing win.

Kayleigh Hurton was awarded the Basingstoke player of the match.

Final Score: 41 v 65

Basingstoke vs Team Rock
A strong start by both teams as Team Rock led by a single goal at the break, but the 2nd quarter saw them gain vital turnovers enabling them to increase their lead to 22-16 at half time. A much better quarter by Basingstoke prevented Rock from extending their lead, but Basingstoke struggled in the 4th and Team Rock capitalised to take the game out of reach.

Jo Laffoley was awarded the Basingstoke player of the match by the opposition.

Unfortunately Basingstoke received penalty points for an incomplete score/results card... Better luck next time ladies!

Final Score: 32 - 46

Team - GS - Sue Willcock, GA- Jo Laffoley , WA - Kayleigh Hurton, C-Ann Jones, WD – Izzy Harp , GD- Tracey Lowther, GK -  Liz McGill,  Sub -Leanne Longhurst

Basingstoke vs Volume
A must win match for both clubs began with a tentative start from both teams, with excellent interceptions from both sides, the end of the first quarter was even at 8-8. The following quarter saw the centre court players Ann Jones, Izzy Harp & Kayleigh Hurton making solid passes into the shooters Sue Willcock and Jo Laffoley. Jo the usual defensive player was asked to stand in as the Goal Attack due to an injury. She had excellent movement and used her skill to make some very quick passes enabling the shooter Sue to easily convert. However at the end of the 1st half Basingstoke were trailing by 2 at 21-19.

The third quarter was again evenly matched but Basingstoke had fallen to 3 goals behind at 32-29. Basingstoke always felt that this was within their grasp, and thanks to the excellent defensive work  of Tracey Lowther and Liz McGill with newcomer Leanne Longhurst, they managed to pull ahead by 1 goal. However the Volume players dug deep and ended up winners at 40-39 just as Basingstoke were about to score. A very exciting game to watch, but the wrong result for Basingstoke.

Sue Willcock was awarded the Basingstoke player of the match by the opposition.

Final Score: 39 v 41

Team - GS - Sue Willcock, GA- Jo Laffoley , WA - Kayleigh Hurton, C-Ann Jones, WD – Izzy Harp , GD- Tracey Lowther, GK -  Liz McGill,  Sub -Leanne Longhurst