Wolves target first trophy in SLB women's final

- Published
Oaklands Wolves have a first major trophy in their sights ahead of their Super League Basketball Trophy women's final against Caledonia Gladiators.
The St Albans-based side will start favourites as they are top of the Championship after winning all nine games so far.
They reached the final with a comfortable 99-68 victory over Essex Rebels, last year's runners-up.
"We've played Caledonia once this season and we beat them, so it's quite nice to have that on our backs, but it's a final and anything can happen," Wolves point guard Beth Sarson told BBC Three Counties Radio.
"We are undefeated right now but we've had our down moments. We've really learned (from them) and have had a good week of practice. We're really ready.
"We just want to go out there and play our best basketball and the week we've had building up to it, I'm quite confident we can go out there and play (well)."
- Published24 January
- Published24 January
It is the first year of the Super League finals - Newcastle Eagles will meet Bristol Flyers in the men's showpiece - following the change of name from the British Basketball League.
The Wolves, who are based at Oaklands College, first entered the BBL in 2016 and have never previously gone beyond the quarter-finals of the Trophy competition.
Ella Fotu led the scoring in the semi-final against the Rebels with 21 points, with Sarson contributing 10.
She joined the Wolves academy team before earning a college scholarship in the United States, but remains mindful of her previous background in netball.
"In netball, you learn so many fundamentals that transfer into basketball, so even now, some of my passes I still thank netball for because you have to move the ball quite quickly in netball. It does translate a lot," said Sarson.
"I never thought I would go and play out there (in the US). So for me, it was kind of a shock that I got offers.
"Obviously, it's a lot, you're moving away from home, but not just to a university around the UK, it's a whole new country, it's a new culture. But the opportunity out there to play, it's just a completely different game out there."
Having returned to play professionally for Wolves, she is delighted to see the reach of the game grow.
"Just the fact that people from other countries talk to me about teams in our league, the word's spread the word and it's so cool to see how many young girls play now," she added.
The women's Trophy final between the Wolves and Gladiators begins at 12:30 GMT at Birmingham's Utilita Arena on Sunday, with more than 8,500 tickets already sold for the event.