Jenaya Wade-Fray’s UWIC Archers claimed the English Division 1 Women's title thanks to a 75-52 victory over Nottingham Wildcats.
UWIC Archers Coach Damian Jennings was a very happy man with the success said, "At the planning and goal-setting stage I thought it would require 20 wins to take the league this season, but obviously 19 got the job done after Sheffield lost to three different teams and we only lost to one. Upon reflection, when you play each team three times, to collect a clean sweep over six teams in the most competitive league in the last decade we are very happy.”
"Every team had a starting five that was impressive offensively, with even the teams at the bottom of the league boasting individual talent. I think by virtue of analyzing the stats you can see that we got it done by a team approach, relying less on individuals to consistently provide their stats and more about all players understanding their qualities and how to contribute across the 40 minutes,” continued Jennings.
Jennings went on to say, "We are of course also very happy to have made history for UWIC and all the stakeholders involved behind the scenes. On the court I think special mention should go to the likes of Stef Collins, Meagan Hoffman, Nicki Avery and Sarah Wagstaff who have represented the Archers for the best part of 8 years through many changes, failures and success. Their perseverance coupled with the commitment of newer recruits has made this type of achievement happen.”
In the game UWIC appeared to have things under control with a 37-22 half-time lead, but Nottingham hit back trail by just eight going into the last quarter. A 24-9 period in favor of UWIC allowed them to claim their first ever league title.
