Essex Rebels aim for top-four league finish after reaching first major final

Essex Rebels were formed in 2014 and joined the WBBL in 2018-19

Essex Rebels are targeting a top-four finish in the Women's British Basketball League after reaching their first major final.

The Rebels lost 83-67 to London Lions in the Betty Codona Trophy showpiece.

The team have a best of sixth in the Championship since their 2018-19 debut.

"Maybe we didn't get the result we hoped for but it's still fantastic progress from our basketball programme," said University of Essex director of sport Dr Dave Parry.

"It's been a really interesting journey over the last few years. We've positioned our Rebels programme at the heart of our university community, it's really bringing an element of life, entertainment, belonging and community to our campus."

He told BBC Essex: "This season there's about a 70% increase in attendances, our women's games have averaged somewhere between 700 and 800 per game, up from about 400 last year.

"We're really seeing a surge in interest and basketball is the second most popular participation team sport among young people in the country."

Rebels trailed 26-13 after the first quarter in Sunday's final in Birmingham and, despite 15 points from Dayzsha Rogan and 12 for Megan Haines, they were unable to prevent the Lions from lifting the trophy for the fourth year in a row.

"We definitely were going in as the underdogs. But we still had the belief throughout the team that we can beat them with our best 40 minutes," said head coach Ashley Cookson.

"We were happier with the performance than the first time we played them in the regular season [losing 101-73].

"The club's come a long way in the last five years. We're straight back into league play so the focus is top four for this season.

"Down the road we'll see London again and hopefully we can be more competitive and come out with a win."

Rebels are fifth in the 11-team WBBL table after five wins from eight matches, just two points behind the Lions at the top, and are next in action away to Newcastle Eagles on Saturday.