Tag: basketball

Women Capture League Title

Women’s 1st team are Midlands Tier 2 Champions (10-0). They secured the league with 2 win’s in the same night. Wednesday 19th March saw UW Women play 2 games. At 6pm they faced University of Wolverhampton 1st team. Followed by Birmingham City University at 8pm.

This unprecedented event took place due to not having any availability for the fixtures to be played at any other point during the season. With it being the final week of BUCS fixtures, there was no alternative other than to play both games on the same night.

UW Women won both games by comfortable margin. Putting over 100 points on the board in both fixtures. Coach Alexis said “I’m really happy with the performances. I want to give a huge shout out to both BCU and University of Wolverhampton. They both only won one game all season. So to turn up and still compete in the way they did was great!

“Having being relegated to 2A at the end of last season. It’s the first time we have competed in 2A since the 2011-2012 season. So to win it and get back to 1A straight away is great for the team” added Coach Alexis.

In his first season as Coach of this team, Coach Alexis is looking forward to competing in Midlands 1A. “I’ve enjoyed my first season in BUCS and I look forward to competing in 1A next season. The team have worked hard this season, to win the cup and the league is amazing. I’m really happy for them, as they have worked so hard. They really deserve this!”

Midlands Conference Cup Champions

Our women are Midlands Conference Cup Champions. A convincing win secured the victory over finalists Cambridge University 80-59.

Worcester started the game strong. Closing the first quarter 22-12. We continued to dominate the second quarter. Defensive stops allowed us to control the flow and tempo of the game. Cambridge were unable to develop any rhythm. We closed the first half leading 43-22.

The half time break worked in Cambridge’s favour who were keen to show the contest was well from over. Cambridge came out with an energy and an urgency. Going toe to toe with us, Cambridge edged the quarter 21-20 (60-43). However they were unable to break the hold we had on the game to this point.

Cambridge continued to compete in the 4th, but they weren’t able to eat into the lead that we had created. We were able to do enough to keep them at bay with time defensive stops and converting baskets on offense

check out pictures from the victory here

Overtime loss for our Men’s 2nd team 79-90 Nottingham 2’s


Last game of the season for our Men’s 2nd team. Travelling across to the east midlands to take on University of Nottingham Men’s 2nd. To decide who gets second place in the league.
A slow start from our men allowed Nottingham to get an 8-0 start. Coach Radu called for an early time-out to settle our guys down. The timeout worked and our men rallied and finished the first quarter 21-18.

Second quarter belonged to the home team. Scoring 25pts and taking back the lead to go into half time 43-32.
The half time break is exactly what our guys needed! A strong performance in the 3rd quarter, a flurry of 3’s and some great defence, we regained the lead. Going into the 4th quarter 63-56.

The home team managed to reduce this deficit and to even get back in front 74-72 in the last 5 seconds of the game. Captain Malaki Pitterson Cunningham scored after a strong drive to the basket sending the game into overtime: 74-74.

Malaki said “it was great getting to over time after a hard fought game, but the foul trouble hurt us in the fourth.”
Having 3 players fouled out in the overtime, we scored 5 points to Nottingham’s 16(12 points from free throw line!!!!) – final score 90-79 for home team.
We may have lost the battle, but we won the war. Our men succeeded in maintaining their hold on 2nd place, by having the split over Nottingham.

Coach Alex said “What a great game to finish the season. Everyone came in the game and contributed. Just a shame we didn’t get the win, but we remain in second place so we can be at peace a little bit “

Finals Bound!

They’re headed to the FINALS! Our Women’s 1st team beat Derby University to book their place in this years Midlands Conference Cup Finals. Another solid team performance saw them secure the win in front of a supportive crowd. This week it was the turn of Steph Oliver to lead the team in scoring. Shooting her way to a game high, 19pts (6 of 9 from 3pt).

We caught up with Player of the game Steph Oliver, who lead the team in scoring with 19pts. “As a team we performed very well. Our defence created a lot of fast break lay-ups for us.” When asked about her own performance, she said “I think i performed well, I was shooting when open. Making 3s at the end of the plays or shot clock and also creating opportunities for my teammates.”

We asked Steph how the team was feeling after Wednesdays win. “As a team we are so excited to make it to the Finals, it is such a great feeling and we have been working hard and stayed consistent in games to be able to reach this moment.”

Our team take on Cambridge Women’s 1st team in the Midlands Conference Cup Final on Wednesday 5th March at University of Birmingham at 11am tip. Cambridge are currently 2nd in Midlands 2B. 3pts behind league leaders Nottingham Women’s 2. We managed to speak with Coach Alexis to hear this thoughts on reaching the finals in his first season

Looking to advance!

Our women’s team take on Derby University for the second week running. This time with the hope of advancing to the Final of Midlands Conference Cup. After winning both games in Tier 2 this season, we’re expecting our women to be in the final on March 5th.

Coach Alexis said “It will be a difficult game, regardless of the two previous results. This team (Derby) are not travelling all this way to come and lose a game. So I expect it to be a competitive game tomorrow, against a team who have nothing to lose. Therefore, we need to focus on the offensive and defensive end of the court. Being consistent for the whole forty minutes.”

Last week 7 of the team scored in double figures, with Megan Lovatt leading the way. Will, Coach Alexis be expecting the same tomorrow? “Yes! If we’re serious about winning the game then everyone on the team has to be ready to perform. So everyone has to be ready. Tomorrow we need 8 players in double figures.”

Our women tip off at 8pm at University of Worcester Arena!!

#LetsGoWorcester

Megan leads they way

The University of Worcester Women’s Basketball team continued their undefeated streak in Midlands 2A. Winning their latest league game against Derby Women’s 1st team 99-42.

Megan Lovatt could not be stopped beyond the arc. Hitting five 3 pointers and top scoring with 21 points!

A great team performance, saw 7 player score in double figures. Plenty of steals and assists being dished out by Nina Wallace and Danie Wallis. Strong finishes around the rim by Preccila Ocrah, Lottie Cretegny and Emma Wickham. Kacey Cox and Steph Oliver further contributed to this success by hitting 3s and completing fast breaks attacks. Caitlin Hughes confidently returned to the court injury for the last 10 weeks. Now healthy, Caitlin contributed 11 points on her return!

The win, sets the team up nicely for next week’s Conference Cup Semi-Finals. The semi-final fixture will see them play Derby for the 3rd time this season. Captain Emma Wickham said “I’m very proud of the whole team’s performance today. Getting the win shows all the hard work we’ve been putting in is paying off. We’re very excited for next weeks cup game. We’ll be working hard to prepare as we want to get to the finals!!”

Top scorers:
Megan Lovatt – 21 points
Nina Wallace – 13 points
Kacey Cox/Preccilla Ocrah/Steph Oliver – 12 points

Can the streak continue?

Our Women will look to strengthen their hold on BUCS Midlands 2A.  A confident University of Worcester team will be going into todays game looking for their 7th win.  Missing key players our women will be looking to get the job done. Coach Alexis said “we’re extremely fortunate to have a deep squad. the players know that with a couple players missing, others will have to step up.”

When asked about preparation for the game, Coach said “Derby are not to be taken lightly, so I’ve demanded a lot of from our team in practice and to be fair to them, they’ve practiced really well this week. So let’s hope that carries over to the game.” He added “their in 2nd place, so this is an important game against a tough team. We’ve got to focus on our defence, our intensity, ball movement and playing as a team.

The second place team are hot on the heels of our women.  3pts currently seperates both teams in the table. Our women will be working to ensure they extend that lead to 6pts by the end of tonight.

Can we be the 1?

Our Men’s 2nd team will be looking to 3 wins in a row this week. As they take on Midlands 2A league winners Loughborough 4’s. Coach Alex Radu and the team know that it won’t be an easy task. The table toppers are yet to lose a game. Storming to eight wins and zero losses to date. Is our team ready to hand Loughborough their first loss of the season?

Coach Alex, had this to say when we caught up with him this morning. “Practice last week and this week has been good. All players responded well in training to my requirements as a coach and despite the fact that we had a few players who were ill or had some minor injuries, overall I believe we are ready for this game against top of the league team (Loughborough) so that we can consolidate our second place by the end of the season!”

Be sure to support our teams this week at University of Worcester Arena.

Men’s 2 tip is 6pm and our Men’s 3’s play Leicester 2’s at 8pm

#PartWolf – Sergi Estany Sanchez

My time in Worcester

Before coming to Worcester Sergi was a second year business student at La Salle Barcelona. Whilst studying Sergi played in the Spanish national EBA league for “UE Sant Cugat”.

Sergi came to the University of Worcester as an exchange student thanks to an international partnership with La Salle Barcelona which allowed him complete his third year abroad. Sergi wanted to keep improving his English, whilst embracing a different cultural experience and Worcester felt like a perfect fit because of the business course and basketball program.

Now at the end of the season, Sergi has returned back home to Spain. So we caught up with him to find out what he thought about his time in Worcester

Once you got to Worcester in September did it live up to your expectations.

Completely, the city was great, its people was really nice to me since day one and the University provided all the necessary things for me to succeed both inside and outside the classroom.

The guys celebrating one of their wins as members of the Worcester Wolves.(from left to right Sergi, Ian and Bruno)

What was it like playing with fellow country men, Bruno and Ian?

It was great! As a newcomer they introduced me to everyone and they soon became two of my best friends in the city. Inside of the court, it was great to play alongside Ian, one of the best scorers in the league and also with Bruno, who shares the same “fast-break” mentality as myself.

You also got the opportunity to be coached by Andreas Farakos. What was that like.

I believe I speak on behalf of the team when I say that it was a gift this year to have Coach Andreas in the team. His knowledge about the game and his professional experience with Valencia Basket enhanced the team to a new level.

Sergi on the wing for our Men’s 1st team

In your only year with us you got the opportunity to play with our Mens 1st team as well as the Worcester Wolves?

It has been great to be part of both teams this season. Being able to play twice a week in different leagues and against different people really has been a great experience. Personally, I believe that playing in the challenging BUCS Premier league on Wednesdays helped the team to be better prepared for our NBL Wolves games on the weekends.

Sergi finishes the lay-up for the Worcester Wolves

What have you enjoyed most about your time in England?

The University of Worcester is a really international place with students from many different countries and cultures. So, I would say that being able to meet and learn from a diverse student body was the best thing about my time here.

Coach Dean said ” Sergi has been great for us this season on both ends of the floor. When he comes on, you know he’s going to give you a spark of energy. He makes things happen on both ends of the floor. It’s a shame he’s only here for one season, we’ve definitely enjoyed having him here with us. I know he’s had a great time here as a student athlete. I wish him all the best in the future”

What’s are some of your favourites memories from the season?

I believe that went I look back to this season I will remember, among other things, the great atmosphere that was breathen in home games. The Arena was always filled with many local families and kids, which was really felt as our 6th man. From those times played at the Arena, the moment on the Semi-final playoff game when London Thunder miss the three that let us advance to the Playoff Final is my favourite moment. The excitement and the adrenaline from that moment is unforgettable.

Being from Spain, there’s a different culture to the UK, weathers different, food is different. What was your favourite food that you wish you had in Spain.

My favourite English food by far is an English breakfast wrap. Without beans though. I do not know why you guys put beans with everything lol

At the start of the season did you think you’d be part of a team that would win the league and get to the playoff final?

To be honest, I always believed we had a team that could compete in the NBL. We did not only have great players in different positions but I also think that the group really got along with each other, which chemistry helped the team be more efficient on the court while achieving the objectives set at the beginning of the season.

Finally, what are your plans when you return home?

I’ll be spending May at home with my family, whilst volunteering for a local organization to help a 12 year old Ukrainian boy to establish himself in the city and learn some Spanish. During May I will also be attending the Basketball Champions League Final 4 in Bilbao, Spain. I am really excited about that because the city in Spain where I am from (Manresa) will be competing in it. Apart from that, I am now in the process of getting a Visa to go get another experience away from home during the whole summer in Sydney, Australia where the plan is to be working and sightseeing with a friend.  As the summer ends my plan is to end my Business degree in La Salle Barcelona while I keep playing basketball.

Sounds like a great time ahead for Sergi. We wish him all the best in the future. He’s promised he’ll come back and visit, so hopefully we see him back in Worcester soon. If you’d like to know more about study abroad opportunities here at UW, please click here