Southend Swifts had
six teams in action on a busy weekend and for once it was two of the boys’
teams that took pride of place. The under 18s met Colchester Jammers who
have won their last five games and looked to be on their way to six straight
taking a 16-4 lead after just five minutes. Despite Oliver Crussell finding
his range, the deficit was 27-18 after the first quarter but Swifts
regrouped to trail just 49-48 at half time. The third period saw Southend
take a firm stronghold with Crussell hitting four three-pointers and Graham
Oluwadare controlling the rebounds. Alex Smith showed superb control in the
final 10 minutes as he led his side to a resounding 95-78 win that puts them
back into third place; Crussell finishing with 35 points and Oluwadare and
Smith 18 each.
For the under 14
boys, they finally got just reward for their efforts over a very hard season
as they managed their first victory by 80 points to 66 over Baddow Eagles.
Taking a 10-1 lead in the first four minutes, the young Swifts had the
watching crowd on the edge of their seats as they managed to concede double
digit leads on four occasions. From 25-20 at the end of the first quarter,
Southend moved out to 34-22 in the next four minutes, but turnovers cost
them dearly and at half time it was just 44-39.
Baddow got back to
just 46-45 down before 12 unanswered points gave Swifts some breathing
space. This time they held on and at the end of three quarters it was
62-53. Six straight took them 15 ahead but Eagles clawed back and with five
minutes to play it was 68-58. Six missed foul shots set the nerves on edge
but the young men regained their composure to record an excellent victory.
Perry Osbourne with 20 points, Daniel Emmanuel and Nathan Smith 13 each and
Bradley Wood and Jordan Smithers both on 12 leading the way.
For the girls’ teams
there was mixed fortunes. The under 16s fell to a disappointing defeat at
Solent Suns by 78 points to 65. From a 17-16 lead after the opening 10
minutes, Southend moved out to 24-18 but poor finishing and some strange
officiating decisions pegged them back to trail 35-31 at half time. Neither
team could take a meaningful advantage and at three-quarter time it was
53-48 to the home side. Swifts got back to just one point down but with
fortune not favouring them, they conceded six straight to find themselves
69-60 behind which put the game out of sight, to lose 78-65. Katie Holland
with 25 points and Beth Robson 12 leading the scoring.
The under 14 girls
continued on their way with a 100-69 points over Hounslow Hawks. Making
their normal rapid start, they led 26-10 at the end of the first period,
which they stretched to 40-14 midway through the second. Constant changes
of personnel had little effect as Swifts led 48-21 at half time.
The speed and
dexterity of the young ladies brought prolonged applause from the spectators
as they put on an outstanding display of team basketball. At 85-47 midway
through the final quarter, the least experienced five players were on court
together and to the delight of everyone watching, they reached the 100 mark
with a basket from Abbey Parsons. The 100-69 win saw all of the players on
the scoresheet with Amy Rodgers on 25 and Abbie Jones and Fay Solkhon on 14
each.
The under 18 girls
travelled to Brixton without Christina Gaskin to take on the in-form Topcats
and took a 27-10 lead that should have led to victory. But they contrived
to concede 19 straight points before recovering their composure to lead
43-38 at half time Despite having Jennie Rodgers adjudged to have committed
her fifth foul in the first minute of the second half, Swifts managed a
14-5 run to lead 57-51 but the momentum had swung and the lead with one
stanza remaining was just 60-58.
Topcats came out
strongly to lead 66-63 but Swifts drew level and a Sarah Cozens
three-pointer took them 71-68 ahead. Brixton again took the initiative to
lead 76-71 but four points from Katie Holland made it a one-point game again
and a three-pointer from the same player took Swifts 79-78 ahead. The home
side got 84-81 ahead going into the final minute but Swifts got Katie
Doubleday open for a shot on which she was fouled. To everyone’s surprise
it was ruled a two-point attempt rather than three, which allowed her just
two foul shots, both of which were converted. Southend got the ball back
from a turnover but despite frantic efforts, they failed to find the basket
to fall agonisingly short by 84 points to 83. Holland 30, Rodgers 20 and
Culwick 16 leading the scoring.
Finally the under 16
girls rather painstakingly repaired some of the damage from the previous day
when they got a subdued 72-45 win over Hounslow Hawks. With a number of
players either on duty for the under 18s or unavailable, it was a strange
line-up that led just 15-10 at the end of the first quarter. Eleven
straight points should have been a springboard but the concentration wasn’t
there as the half time margin was just 32-15.
The third period was
a very sorry 10 minutes and at 45-35 a surprise looked possible. But
suddenly the defensive intensity increased and a 14-2 spell took the result
beyond doubt. The final margin of 72-45 was below where it might have been
but it keeps the team in 3rd place in the table. Jess Holland on
16 points, Amy Rodgers 15 and Stephanie Smith 14 leading the scoring.