The Sheffield Hatters missed out on their first silverware of the season in a Cup final defeat to the Oaklands Wolves on Sunday.
It was a fast start for the Hatters, with Georgia Gayle and Tyia Singleton meaning they raced into a 4-0 lead, but a slew of missed efforts meant the Wolves went in 22-11 ahead after the first quarter.
The second again started positively for Vanessa Ellis’ side, starting with five unanswered points, but indiscipline gave the opposition a footing in the game once again.
A Nina Krisper three from the corner brought the Wolves lead down to four points midway through the quarter, but a huge number of missed opportunities from close to the basket, coupled with clinical shooting from Oaklands, saw the scoreboard more and more in favour of the team in black and green.
Both side were in team fouls with three minutes left of the half, and this worked in the Wolves’ favour, as their percentages from the line were keeping them comfortably in the lead – the Hatters were having a bad afternoon in this regard, with just four out of ten converted successfully.
A 14-point deficit at the half, but the Hatters once again came out strong with Emma Gandini and Nina Krisper making the most of three free throws to reduce this, along with a Shauna Harrison three.
The whole time, however, the Championship leaders were showing their quality with a number of twos and threes always keeping the Hatters at more than an arm’s length.
Before the third quarter was up, a 21-point gap had been opened up by the ruthless Oaklands side, and the game had certainly started to slip away.
For the final ten, the Sheffield Hatters started 17 behind at 58-41, and this proved too much to make up despite a heroic effort.
No side scored any points for the first few minutes of the half, but an Oaklands three got the board moving and despite an excellent end to the game from Gandini, a final score of 66-51 gave the Oaklands Wolves the trophy.
