Women's Basketball: England v Wales

The women of England got the defence of their Home Nations title off to a great start this morning, with an emphatic victory over an outmatched Welsh side. Behind the 23 points of Ellen Hall, who also grabbed 13 rebounds, the English simply steamrollered their opposition, sending quite a message to the Scots and Irish sides who await their encounters with the English later in the week.

England started out on fire, pressuring the ball all over the court, and running their bench into the game from the outset, demonstrating their formidable depth. That the English registered 37 points in the first quarter to only 4 from the Welsh, was a sign of things to come, and the English continued in ruthless fashion throughout the first half.

A half-time score of 69-10 caught the eye of all those in attendance, but did not truly reflect the efforts of a determined Welsh squad who never gave in. Time and again, the Welsh worked their way into scoring positions, only for the swarming defence of the English to force a bad shot, and kick-start their transition offence. Led by point guard Brykeesha Tate, who finished the game with a “double-double” of 10 points and 10 rebounds in only twenty minutes of play, the English ran the Welsh off the floor, with all 12 of their players registering at least one basket.

For the Welsh, it is back to the drawing board before tomorrow’s match against Scotland (Heriot-Watt CSE, 14:30), who will provide another stern test, while England will move into their match with Northern Ireland in fine spirits.

Players of the game

Wales: Special mention must go to Ludmila Reyter and Rebecca Mole, who top scored with 8 and 7 points respectively, with Reyter also grabbing four rebounds.

England: This was a true team performance from the English, though the top scorers were Ellen Hall with 23 and Josephine Miagnomo with 21, in addition to 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, all in 21 minutes, while Ejay Ofomata registered an impressive line of 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocked shots in her 16 minutes.