Endeavour Ipswich Basketball Club’s Senior Women were crowned WNBL Division One National League Champions on Saturday, after a dominant first half performance against Bristol carried them to victory in front of a packed out Copleston Sports Centre.
The Suffolk side went into the game knowing that a win would secure a third Division One Championship in just five years, and they came flying out of the blocks – seemingly putting the game to bed by half time. Harriet Welham put on an offensive masterclass, recording a season high 41 points, especially in the first half (27 points) to lead her team to a famous win. However, Bristol were no pushovers and despite a 28 point deficit at half time, they mounted a comeback, bringing the hosts lead to within single digits early in the fourth quarter. Ipswich then re-established their offensive flow and extended the lead back to thirteen.
Ipswich now play Loughborough on Saturday to complete their regular season, before turning their attention to the National Playoffs. Since the WBBL was launched in 2014, no team has won the WNBL treble, consisting of the league, cup and playoffs. While Ipswich will no doubt take each game as it comes, they could be forgiven for wanting to finish what could quite possibly become the greatest seasons in the history of the club.
“We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who came to support the team on Saturday – the atmosphere was incredible and we hope we have inspired people to want to come back and get behind us for the playoffs” said Captain Harriet Welham.