Match Reports by Ray Oakley
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65 ENFIELD PHOENIX -v- CARDIFF CELTS 59

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN PLAY OFF QUARTER FINAL

SATURDAY, 22ND MARCH 2008

Enfield Phoenix went one step closer to the EBL Division Two championship with a hard fought 65-59 victory over Cardiff Celts in the quarter finals of the play offs when the sides met at Edmonton Leisure Centre on Saturday.

Phoenix started brightly and two baskets each for captain Patsy Imbert and Bonnie Laird quickly opened up an 8-3 lead. Good inside work by Charmain Payne and an outside shot by Sylvie Dixon took Phoenix 17-7 ahead after eight minutes, but that was to be Enfield’s biggest lead of the match as Celts fought back with baskets from Sharlene Wilson and Emma Gough to trail just 13-17 at the end of the first quarter.

The visitors continued to play tough defence and a basket by Imbert was the only Phoenix score in the first five minutes of the second quarter, during which Hayley Acreman and Tracie Colbron piled on nine points to give Cardiff a 22-19 lead. Imbert fought back both inside and from the free throw line but Celts continued to pepper the Enfield basket with three-point attempts and a big three from Holly Hinchey helped Cardiff take a slender 29-27 lead into the interval. Acreman doubled Cardiff’s advantage with the opening score of the third but baskets from Fiona Scarlett, Imbert and a three-pointer by Arlynne Rodriguez edged Phoenix ahead at 34-33. Resilient Cardiff refused to give in and opened up a four point lead with a basket from Wilson and a three-pointer from Hinchey. A free throw from Rodriguez and a three-point play from Imbert levelled the scores but Acreman drew a foul from Imbert on a drive to the basket and the Celts’ captain converted the bonus free throw to keep her side three points in front.
Urged on by their supporters, Phoenix at last gained some momentum when they stepped up their defence to pressure their tiring opponents and scored ten unanswered points in a three minute period to open up a 48-41 lead. Michelle Brown scored eight of her eleven point tally in this period as Cardiff failed to cope with her speed on the break.

Phoenix held a 50-43 lead going into the final quarter and although Scarlett scored to extend the lead to nine points, Cardiff refused to surrender and baskets by Wilson, Acreman and Hinchey were followed by a crucial three-pointer by Emma Gough as the visitors recovered to trail 53-54 with six minutes remaining.
A basket by Payne stemmed the tide but Gough scored a mid range basket to keep the deficit a single point. Lily Frederick then took advantage of the space afforded by Cardiff’s tiring defence to score the first of two three-pointers that would effectively seal the game. The first opened up a 59-55 lead to give some breathing space and the second, scored a minute later, took Enfield 63-57 ahead and gave Phoenix control of the closing stages.

Cardiff tried to come back one last time with free throws by Wilson and Acreman, but with both Acreman and Gough in danger of fouling out they could not provide effective defence and a final basket by Payne sealed a hard fought 65-59 victory.

Phoenix now travel to Birmingham to take on Black Country Bears in the semi finals. The Bears won the Midlands/South West section of EBL Division Two (Women) and progressed to the semi finals with a 44-35 victory over Bury Blue Devils in the play offs on Saturday.
The match takes place at Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School on Saturday, 29th March and tips off at 2.00 p.m.

59 ENFIELD PHOENIX -v- BRIXTON TOPCATS 33

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 8TH MARCH 2008

Enfield Phoenix completed the regular season with a convincing 59-33 victory over Brixton Topcats when the sides met at Edmonton Leisure Centre on Saturday and not only secured a place in the play offs but also finished as winners of EBL Division Two (South) after rivals London Met University lost to Sevenoaks Suns II on Sunday.

Phoenix knew that victory was essential if they were to stand any chance of finishing top but found it difficult to break down Brixton’s aggressive defence. Inside baskets from Patsy Imbert and Charmain Payne were Enfield’s only successes in a dour first quarter, which ended with Topcats holding a 10-6 lead after Rachel James hit a three-pointer on the buzzer. Phoenix were mindful that they had only secured a 39-37 victory after a late comeback when the sides met in their previous encounter in January and stepped up their game at the start of the second. Payne scored off a strong inside move before Imbert cut through the Brixton defence three times in a dominant two minute spell that saw Phoenix edge 14-12 ahead. Fiona Scarlett scored a layup and although Phoenix had a setback when Sasha McCarthy suffered a knee injury that was to sideline the Enfield guard for the rest of the match, Michelle Brown maintained the momentum when she made a three-point play after drawing a foul from Whitty.
Now holding a 19-15 lead, Enfield had the confidence to dominate the last two minutes of the second period and a three-pointer by Scarlett was followed by scores from Imbert, Payne and Sylvie Dixon as Phoenix went into the interval 30-15 ahead.

Enfield continued to dominate at the start of the third when accurate shooting by Zoe Mallett saw the Phoenix guard score an outside shot and a big three-pointer and although Topcats responded with a three-pointer by James, Enfield’s all round scoring threat enabled them to pile on another nine points when baskets from Arlynne Rodriguez and Bonnie Laird added to further scores by Brown and Payne.

A run of baskets by Bex Njoku, Brown and Imbert at the start of the final quarter quickly extended the lead to 53-23 to put the result beyond doubt and although Brixton had the better of the closing stages when their impressive centre Josephine Maignomo scored eight of her nine point tally they could not prevent Phoenix completing a resounding 59-33 victory.

Phoenix captain Patsy Imbert finished off the regular season with another fine display, scoring a game high 21 points as well as taking 14 rebounds, and making 3 assists and a blocked shot.

The real drama was reserved for Sunday afternoon, when the news of a victory by third placed Sevenoaks Suns II over London Met University confirmed top place in EBL Division Two (South) for Phoenix in only their second season in the National League. Enfield coach Kas Stuart can look forward to the play offs with confidence, knowing that her side has shown greater consistency in recent weeks and is in a fine run of form after winning nine of their ten matches since the turn of the year.


57 UH WEST HERTS WARRIORS -v- ENFIELD PHOENIX 79

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 1ST MARCH 2008

Enfield Phoenix moved one step closer to the end of season play offs with a convincing 79-57 victory over West Herts Warriors when the sides met in EBL Division Two (South) at Watford on Saturday.
Phoenix quickly raced to a 6-2 lead with Patsy Imbert and Bonnie Laird both scoring inside but accurate three point shooting by Warriors’ captain Jo Godfrey and Jenny Stenzel saw West Herts establish a 19-14 lead with two minutes of the first quarter remaining. Enfield responded with a basket by Bex Njoku and although Arlynne Rodriguez hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to a single point, a basket by Hayley Swann saw West Herts take a surprise 23-20 lead into the second quarter.

Phoenix wasted no time in regaining the lead when tough defence denied Warriors any scores for a full four minutes, during which Rodriguez and Imbert took Enfield 26-23 ahead. Swann then hit a three-pointer to tie the scores but Phoenix pulled away in a dominant four minute spell when Brown, Imbert and Lisa Williams all scored to take Enfield to a 39-28 lead. A late three-pointer by Swann saw Warriors cut the deficit to single figures at the interval, when they trailed 31-39 despite a first half performance in which they scored five three-pointers from only seven attempts and an impressive overall shooting average of 52%.

Phoenix pulled further ahead at the restart with baskets from Rodriguez, Laird and the lively Bex Njoku to lead 47-33 and although Godfrey kept Warriors in touch with a lay up off a fine assist by Swann, the introduction of Narjes Fawaz had an immediate effect when the Phoenix junior hit a big three-pointer to set up a commanding 50-35 lead. Brown hit a three-pointer to offset a similar long range score by Godfrey and although Warriors fought back from the free throw line Phoenix coach Kas Stuart knew her side had the match under control when they took a 57-45 lead into the final quarter.

A battling performance by Katrin Hulme saw the Warriors’ centre score three times in as many minutes at the start of the fourth but Phoenix were proving unstoppable on offence, with Brown capping a high energy performance with a second three-pointer to secure a ten point tally before making a sensational assist to find Charmain Payne in open space in the key.

Payne dominated during the closing stages, scoring eight of her fourteen points in the last five minutes after coach Stuart rested Patsy Imbert after the Phoenix forward secured a game high sixteen points.
One of the best all round performances of the afternoon came from Bex Njoku, who scored Enfield’s last basket to secure a 79-57 victory in which she scored eight points and made two blocks.

Phoenix complete the regular season on Saturday when they host Brixton Topcats at Edmonton Leisure Centre when another win will guarantee at least second place in the EBL Division Two (South) table

70 ENFIELD PHOENIX -v- SOUTHEND SWIFTS 40

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 23RD FEBRUARY 2008

Enfield Phoenix kept on track for a strong position in the end of season play offs with a comfortable 70-40 victory over Southend Swifts in EBL Division Two Women (South) at Edmonton on Saturday.
Coach Kas Stuart was able call on an almost full strength squad for the match and Phoenix raced to an early 7-2 lead after Lily Frederick scored a three-pointer in the opening minute. A three-pointer by Swifts’ captain Emma Hart helped Southend fight back to trail 9-11 but Phoenix ended the first quarter strongly with baskets by Lisa Williams, Zoe Mallett and Fiona Scarlett to edge 16-11 ahead.

Baskets by Charmain Payne and Sylvie Dixon maintained Enfield’s advantage at the start of the second but a determined effort by Southend and strong inside play by Catherine Gaskin and Ellie Shaxon saw Swifts recover to tie the scores at 20-20.
Payne and Patsy Imbert kept the visitors at bay with points inside the key and two late baskets by Bex Njoku saw Enfield take a solid but not emphatic 32-25 lead into the interval.

As had been the case in the game at London Westside a week earlier, Phoenix saved their best basketball for the third quarter when good inside scores by Payne were followed by successive three-pointers from Frederick and Mallett as Enfield raced to a 42-27 lead. Swifts coach Stephen Pearl called a time out midway through the quarter but Southend could not stem the tide as Phoenix continued to dominate and baskets by Imbert, Payne, Scarlett and Brown completed a sixteen point unanswered run that saw Enfield take a commanding 52-25 lead.

Francesca Whitby scored a free throw to end the run, but Phoenix carried their momentum through the entire third quarter and successive outside shots by Arlynne Rodriguez marked a successful return from injury by the Enfield guard as Phoenix went into the final period holding a decisive 58-30 lead.

The final quarter saw Phoenix cruise to a comfortable 70-40 victory and provided the opportunity for coach Stuart to give junior Narjes Fawaz an extended run out. Charmain Payne continued her inside dominance to secure a game high tally of 19 points while fifteen year old Christina Gaskin gave a hugely impressive display for the visitors, scoring 14 points and taking no less than 17 rebounds.

With the top four teams again all winning their matches against sides from the bottom four of the table the race for the play off places is now even closer. Phoenix must win both their remaining regular season matches to secure a position in the top two and gain automatic qualification. They travel to Watford on Saturday to face West Herts Warriors in the first of these matches.

51 LONDON WESTSIDE -v- ENFIELD PHOENIX 63

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 16TH FEBRUARY 2008

Enfield Phoenix remain on track for a strong position in the end of season play offs after securing a 63-51 victory over London Westside in EBL Division Two Women (South) at Uxbridge on Saturday.
Availability problems meant Phoenix coach Kas Stuart could not call on Charmain Payne, Bonnie Laird, Sylvie Dixon, Fiona Scarlett, Bex Njoku and Arlynne Rodriguez and although Zoe Mallett and Sasha McCarthy both scored early in the game, Enfield’s depleted squad fell to a 12-4 deficit after Westside’s Amani Rodriguez-Thomas hit successive three-pointers.

Two baskets apiece by Lisa Williams and Michelle Brown saw Phoenix fight back to level at 12-12 before Michelle Sloane added two inside scores for Westside, but Patsy Imbert edged the visitors ahead at 19-18 at the end of the quarter. A pair of free throws and a three-pointer by Mallett established a 24-18 Phoenix lead but tough inside play by Sloane and Kathryn Cassidy saw Westside fight back to level the scores with six unanswered points.

The lead changed no less than six times in the period as neither side was able to dominate but Phoenix took a psychological advantage into the interval when a late run of scores by Imbert and Mallett gave Enfield a slender 36-35 lead. Imbert added another eight points at the restart as Phoenix quickly established a 46-37 lead but Westside responded with a basket by Sara Gamble and an inside score by Cassidy to keep the home side in contention at 46-42.

Phoenix then stepped up their game and a run of baskets by Lily Frederick, Imbert and Mallett was followed by a three-point play by Brown after the Enfield point guard drew a foul from Westside captain Isabella Von Mesterhazy, helping Phoenix to a commanding 55-43 lead as the match went into the final quarter. Brown and Imbert extended the lead to 59-43 early in the fourth as the Phoenix defence continued to deny Westside but Von Mesterhazy broke the barren spell with an outside shot before her three-pointer reduced the deficit to 48-59. Imbert was on hand to seal the Enfield win with two late baskets and secured a game high tally of 25 points and 13 rebounds, allowing her to be rested after a nosebleed incurred during the intense inside battle with the Westside forwards.

Coach Stuart gave reliable junior Narjes Fawaz an extended run in the closing stages as Phoenix came through a testing encounter with a comfortable 63-51 victory against a Westside team that belied its bottom of the table position and which had beaten Enfield earlier in the season.

With the top four teams all winning their matches against sides from the bottom four of the table the race for the play off places remains as close as ever and Phoenix need another win when they face sixth placed Southend Swifts on Saturday.

41 LONDON MET UNIVERSITY -v- ENFIELD PHOENIX 57

EBL DIVISION TWO WOMEN (SOUTH)

SATURDAY, 9TH FEBRUARY 2008

Enfield Phoenix scored an important 57-41 victory over leaders London Metropolitan University in the top of the table clash in EBL Division Two Women (South) table when the sides met at Holloway on Saturday.

Bonnie Laird opened the scoring for Phoenix with a good inside move but Met Uni captain Anne Delaxtrat scored three baskets in as many minutes and her three-pointer midway through the quarter gave the university side a 7-4 lead.
Fiona Scarlett and Zoe Mallett fought back from the free throw line but successive baskets by Brigitte Dang kept Met Uni 11-8 in front.

A Phoenix three-pointer by Lily Frederick then tied the scores before a basket by Patsy Imbert restored the Enfield lead and although Michelle Molema added a point from the line for Met Uni after drawing a foul from Sasha McCarthy, a late three-pointer by Mallett saw Phoenix take a 16-12 lead into the second quarter.
Another three by Frederick and a layup by Imbert fired Phoenix 21-12 ahead at the restart but Andrea Van Liere came off the Met Uni bench and scored three quick baskets to cut Enfield’s lead to just 21-18. Lisa Williams and Imbert then scored to restore a seven point Phoenix lead but a technical foul called against the Enfield bench allowed Delaxtrat to score from both resultant free throws and keep Met Uni well in contention at 20-25.

Baskets by Mallett and Charmain Payne helped Phoenix to a 29-20 interval lead and the lively Mallett was again on hand to score the opening basket of the third quarter. Imbert scored inside and provided two assists to Payne as the Enfield centre started to dominate the key at both ends of the court, scoring three times in a four minute period which saw Phoenix establish a commanding 39-23 lead.

Amira Shaaban hit an inside basket for Met Uni, but fine interplay between Imbert, McCarthy and Brown saw Phoenix race to a 47-29 lead at the end of the third period.

Enfield could have been forgiven for thinking that the match was already won after Bex Njoku and Fiona Scarlett scored the opening baskets of the final quarter to take Phoenix 51-29 ahead, but the wealth of overseas talent in the Met Uni side could not be under estimated and they clawed their way back into contention with a run of five unanswered baskets in a four minute spell to recover to trail just 39-51 with over three minutes still to play.

Laird broke the run to settle Phoenix when she found the basket off a big inside move and two late scores by Michelle Brown secured a ten point tally for the Enfield’s influential point guard and seal an impressive 57-41 victory, which sees Phoenix take over top position in the EBL Division Two Women (South) table.

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