Ipswich Bobcats under 14s travelled to Haringey on Saturday and produced their best team performance of the season to date against the league leaders.

They started the game brightly and their aggressive pressure defence forced a series of turnovers from Haringey, though Ipswich lacked consistency under the boards and failed to convert their excellent defensive work into points on too many occasions.

However, they held a 3 point lead at the end of the quarter, which signalled the introduction by the Haringey coach of England player Harriott into the game. Her offensive and defensive qualities were immediately felt and the game swung in Haringey’s favour.  They scored 10 unanswered points as Bobcats struggled to regain their composure and, at the end of the half, Ipswich trailed 38 – 27.

The second half was hard fought but evenly contested and the Bobcats proved that they have the potential to compete with the best teams in the league.

All the Ipswich players showed excellent commitment and made very good contributions to the game, but Rochelle Mackenzie’s defensive performance and Lauren Housego’s 2^nd half display (22 points and 15 rebounds), were outstanding.  

The Ipswich girls can take heart from a very good performance and look forward to the 2^nd half of the season.

Players and scorers:

Giddings, Leather 1, Spall 6, Rigby 2, Mackenzie 7, Cazey 7, Bellingham 5, Cook, Housego 30, Sellar, Diamond 3

MVP:Rochelle Mackenzie