Lady Bears secure BUCS placement

By Jo Svensson.
It would all come down to the final game of BUCS League 1A: what would RHUL Lady Bears Basketball’s fate be this season? The possible outcomes ranged from relegation playoff to promotion playoff for Premiership this Wednesday. Sussex beat the ladies last term with 10+ points and our Royal Holloway players were starving for revenge. As the Little Red Riding Hood came to the Big Bad Wolf, RHUL welcomed Sussex to Nobles for the very last BUCS fixture this season. After 40 minutes of munching, Sussex was defeated 42-33.
Royal Holloway could hardly ask for a better opening of the game. Kristine Flyvholm and Levke Rickmers brought the team to a 7-0 lead within the first four minutes and the game looked promising. After a cautious first quarter, the score stood 11-8 to the home team. The second quarter looked very much like the first, and Holloway struggled to score on a static Sussex defence. Jocelyn spotted up on the three-point line and Alice Couten began her scoring to bring the half-time score to 24-20. Both Head Coach Natasha Green and her players knew they could perform so much better than the first twenty minutes had shown.
So, third quarter, and the ladies had really worked up an appetite. They devoured Sussex with 13-0 in the scope of barely five minutes and got themselves a comfortable 11-point lead after strong hustling from Iv Christova under the basket. Shanty Cheung found empty space in the fast-breaks and Holloway could run from a successively slower Sussex who could not quite keep up with the quick Bears. Going into the fourth quarter – the last ten minutes of BUCS – the red figures on the wall showed 38-27 to our ladies.
What happened in this final part of the game probably puzzles anyone who had come to watch. Perhaps the ladies had started to digest their victory a bit too early, but the basket seemed impossible to reach and RHUL only managed to put in 4 points. Luckily, Sussex’s shooter failed in their attempt and stayed on a feeble 6.
Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 15, Shanty Cheung 11, Jocelyn Lau 9, Levke Rickmers 6, Alice Couten 6, Iv Christova 4
With 42-33, Royal Holloway Lady Bears finish on 21 points and second place in BUCS South-Easter Conference 1A. University of Kent placed top with 24 points after UCL kindly gave them a walkover, thereby automatically giving Kent the win. Both Kent and Royal Holloway were promoted from 2A last year.

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UCL’s ’mission impossible’ accomplished

By Jo Svensson.
The rivalry has been an epic tale of bloodshed and prestige over the past years. UCL versus Royal Holloway always makes the blood rush a bit quicker, a bit hotter through the veins. This time was no different as RHUL Lady Bears travelled to London in the early hours of the Sunday morning to play UCL in the first game of the ULU Cup. Unfortunately, the ladies were not able to defend their title from last year – won in the final against just UCL – and found themselves defeated, for the first time in two years (!) with 43-48. 
The game had been postponed from last term, cancelled, and then postponed again. Finally, UCL had Holloway come in for 10am tip-off at Somerset Sports Centre. The ULU Cup round one and a repeat of last year’s final where RHUL came out on top to secure the title. Previously, UCL has never been in the lead even in a game between the archrivals (perhaps there was that one time where they had a minute of glory one point ahead), so when the first quarter finished 10-9 to the home team, the ladies looked perplexed. What was happening? At half-time, after a step-up from the Bears in the second quarter, the score stood 20-19 to UCL.
So it was time for the infamous third quarter. Time and time again this year have games wavered, and even fallen apart, in just this stage of the game. Accordingly, there seemed to be a lid on the left-hand side basket in Euston. The ladies moved perfectly in offence, swinging the ball and forcing the daring UCL defence to move. Trouble is, if you can’t make the easy chances generated by the excellent offence, the score will stand still. There are no comfort points. The crucial moment in the game was when RHUL missed four straight stupidly easy scoring opportunities, thereby losing eight points in their favour. Instead of going into the fourth quarter with one point up on UCL, the score was 35-28 and Holloway had to fight.
And fight they did. Jocelyn Lau and Kristine Flyvholm found the basket from the perimeter and scored 9-0 on a shocked UCL. The awakening came a little too late, however, and time was not on the ladies’ side. With a final score of 48-43 for the home team, the Bears are now out of the ULU Cup and will have to focus on the ULU League where they remain undefeated.
UCL will now most likely face Imperial College or King’s College in the next round; two teams they’ve lost to previously this season. In the BUCS League 1A, UCL finished in fifth place out of six teams and will therefore be shoved back into 2A for next season. That’s too bad for them.
Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 18, Alice Couten 9, Jocelyn Lau 6, Iv Christova 4, Shanty Cheung 4, Levke Rickmers 1

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Bears de-crown Kings in ULU League

By Jo Svensson

The RHUL Lady Bears storm on undefeated in ULU League Premier Division. This Sunday had the girls face top of the league Kings College London, also without losses and with an impressive record against teams such as UCL and Imperial College, equally strong opponents. Royal Holloway welcomed Kings to Nobles this afternoon and, after a tough battle on court, conquered the only other unbeaten team in the league with a final score of 59-51.

It had been a long weekend for the Bears, with two training sessions Friday and Alumni Sports Day on Saturday, and most of the girls felt rather beat already on entering the sports hall on Sunday. However, they knew what the task in front of them would entail. Kings College London (KCL) was undefeated in ULU League and boasted extraordinary results against accomplished teams. It would be a tough one. But the RHUL ladies had no fear in face of this difficult mission and went ruthlessly into the game, still high on the thrill from Wednesday’s UCL win.

KCL struggled in the beginning of the game and Holloway could speed ahead up to 16-8 after the first quarter. Jocelyn Lau sported her infamous three-point shot and Vicky Bright served the on-lookers a hot one herself. On the opposite side, KCL could not quite break through the tight defence from RHUL and relied on perimeter shooters to score the points. This would prove more efficient in the subsequent quarters.

Second quarter and Jocelyn Lau was on it again. After two quick baskets by KCL, Lau spotted up and brought the ladies back to a 7-point lead. Much because of a solid collaboration between Alice Couten and Kristine Flyvholm, the Bears swung the ball around to find golden opportunities to score. However, KCL penetrated the RHUL defence and were fouled under the baskets after poor rebounding from the home team, and were consequently sent to the free-throw line repeatedly. After the weakest quarter in the game, the teams went to half-time pause with a score of 30-25.

Defensively, the third quarter must be regarded a success. KCL looked tired and only managed to score four times in the ten minutes, whereas Holloway forced them to move in defence by passing the ball around and utilising the plays at hand. Levke Rickmers scored more or less on the buzzer after a fantastic offence and brought Holloway to 41-34 to the fourth quarter.

Not even the volleyball players who had come in to watch the last ten minutes of the game before their training could avoid noticing the thrill in the air. KCL scored six straight points in the first five minutes and suddenly the lead was down to a mere three points. Out of the blue came the shortest KCL player, anonymous until this point, and hit two threes in a row, leaving everyone – including her own team I’d say – in shock. Coach Natasha Green took a strategic time-out with three minutes left and the ladies went back in, fully focused. KCL tried a full-court press which only resulted in three of their players on five fouls not much else. An important three-point shot from Kristine Flyvholm and a crucial free-throw made by Candice Moses later, the game was handed into Holloway hands at 59-51.

Kings went home, no longer undefeated in the ULU League, and Royal Holloway Lady Bears continue their winning streak of 2011.

Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 22, Alice Couten 15, Jocelyn Lau 9, Vicky Bright 5, Levke Rickmers 4, Shanty Cheung 3, Candice Moses 1 (Luisa Miranda, Tracey Ruenes, Rex Ng)

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UCL bites the dust (again)

by Jo Svensson

The chant 'UC-What?' has become integral to our RHUL Lady Bears players as archrivals UCL once again stood opponents, this time in an all-important game for BUCS 1A. It has become something of standard procedure for the ladies to beat UCL, home or away of no importance. This time proved no different as Holloway took charge from the very beginning of the game, and achieved a final result of 60-66.

Jocelyn Lau set the tone for the game straight away with a three-pointer in the very first minute. It would take until the fifth minute for RHUL to score again and UCL could get ahead to 5-3. After that, however, the first quarter was a Holloway performance and it seemed as though the UCL players took a little break. Jocelyn Lau, Kristine Flyvholm and Alice Couten brought the ladies up to a four-point lead after the first quarter, but the game was far from over and done.

From their long and ugly history, the Bears knew UCL's sneaky ways of wriggling their way back, and thanks to solid free-throw shooting, so was the case this time. Still ahead in half-time, 27-32, the game remained an undecided business and coach Tasha Green warned the ladies before the third quarter: statistically, and consistently, the weakest throughout the season. This is the point where games have been lost in the past. But not this time. The ladies took Green's words with them on court and simply did not allow UCL to score. It took four minutes before the opposition found the basket and would another three before the next time. A fantastic team defence from RHUL kept UCL away and stopped their baseline hugging in search for points. 6 - 18 in the ten minutes placed the Bears 19 points ahead.

Was the game over? Not so fast: it's UCL after all. With legs getting increasingly heavier, RHUL struggled to keep up with the quick passings and allowed an evidently slower UCL to score easy points. A time-out later, this weakness was fixed and the opponents had to rely on perimeter shooters instead. Unfortunately, everyone can have a lucky day. Two straight three-pointers, and the difference had gone down to 11 points, and further down to seven. A final free-throw set the score and Royal Holloway, once again, stood victorious.

RHUL Lady Bears have one game left in BUCS 1A: Wednesday vs Sussex.

Scorers: Kristine Flyvholm 20, Alice Couten 13, Jocelyn Lau 10, Levke Rickmers 6, Iv Christova 5, Shanty Cheung 5, Candice Moses 4, Vicky Bright 3

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The Founder interview with Captain Ian Jeffery and President Nick Heff

Men's publicist Alfred Tan digs into the history and motivations of basketball's Ian Jeffery and Nick Heff in a revealing interview for Royal Holloway's independent newspaper The Founder.

Click the link and read about the season so far, what it's like having an ex-NBA player as coach and why RHUL students should come watch the Bears play:

The Founder interview!

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RHUL vs UCL

By Jo Svensson

After Sunday's crushing of UCL 2nds, Royal Holloway Lady Bears surely expected a vengeful 1st team to come to Nobles on Wednesday. As if our ladies needed any extra spark! UCL and Royal Holloway enjoy a long history of rivalry and given last season's five (!) defeats, Lady Bears had no plans on breaking their winning streak. Today was just another day. Final score: 71-65 to Holloway and, yet again, the voices echoed as UCL left Nobles with gloomy faces: "UC-WHAT?"

What a start of the game! As UCL were occupied missing free-throws, RHUL's Shanty Cheung and Alice Couten had the time of their life, scoring Holloway up to a 16-7 lead with help from Jocelyn Lau and Levke Rickmers. It was evident that UCL had lost many players from the previous season and found it difficult to merge together and play as a team. Which Royal Holloway did not mind; not at all. The second quarter proved more troublesome. Some misses in defence and a zone defence which needs to be worked on, RHUL fouled and fouled again and UCL shot themselves up to 31-27, still leaving Holloway in the lead.

Second half. The Ladies walked out of the changing rooms and looked -tired. This tiredness translated onto court and UCL took advantage, as you would expect, and a sloppy defence from Holloway led them once more repeatedly to the free-throw line to score. A number of unchallenged shots and the score was 48-46. The game promised a thrilling ending. "I'm going to have a heart attack if we continue like this," said coach Green afterwards. Quite understandable. With no more than 3 minutes left, the score was 65-63 to RHUL after a 3-pointed by a wide open UCL player. An impressive 6/8 free-throws made by Kristine Flyvholm, Jocelyn Lau and Alice Couten in the last minutes kept UCL at the distance of 6 points and determined the final result. Yet another excellent effort by Iv Hrstova, who had to step in as a core component of the zone defence when Levke Rickmers and Alice Couten both found themselves on four fouls.

Final score: 71-65 and RHUL Lady Bears are STILL undefeated in BUCS League 1A!

Scorers: Alice Couten 18, Shanty Cheung 17, Jocelyn Lau 16, Kristine Flyvholm 12, Luisa Miranda 2, Vicky Bright 1

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RHUL Lady Bears remain undefeated in BUCS

By Jo Svensson

Last Wednesday saw one of the most hyped up games of the season when RHUL Bears welcomed University of Kent to Nobles. Many were the memories from last season's first, and only, defeat in BUCS for the Lady Bears when the last game of autumn term was played at Holloway against just Kent. That game was lost in the last five seconds of the game and for a while it looked as though Kent were to repeat history. However, with 12 players fully determined not to grant them that lucky shot again, our ladies pulled it together to win by 59-58 in a game where a minute never has seemed longer than that final one.

Royal Holloway cut right to the chase and shocked Kent with two straight 3-pointers signed Kristine Flyvholm and Jocelyn Lau and continued to dominate the first quarter, much thanks to a tight defence. As a humble gesture, Kent, although repeatedly sent to the line, missed 5/8 free-throws and thereby landed RHUL a lead 20-13 after 10 minutes. Holloway's women struggled with the height disadvantage but fought bravely under the basket against Kent's post players.

In the second quarter, Kent stepped up their game and edged nearer RHUL on the scoreboard to a half-time score of 53-51. It was now RHUL's turn to miss free-throws and consequently Kent seized the opportunity to get back in the game. Half-time, coach Tasha Green led her team into the changing rooms to cool down, allow them to gather their heads and speak strategy for the second half. If possible, the ladies seemed even more shattered when stepping onto the court in the third quarter. Kent were allowed easy baskets and after a concluding 0-5 in the last 2 minutes, the fourth quarter began with, for the first time, Holloway lagging behind, 47-48.

And what a final quarter. Royal Holloway reclaimed the lead within the first four minutes with Alice Couten scoring 7 points and Iv Hrstova putting up a good fight in defence, leaving the score at 56-52 in the home team's favour. The game seemed in control of the paws of the Bears. Until Kent scored. And scored again. Suddenly it was 58-57 and evil memories from the previous season surely entered one or two old minds. Finally, however, with less than two minutes left, Kristine Flyvholm scored on a 3-point play and thereby left Royal Holloway winners.

Scorers: Alice Couten 22, Kristine Flyvholm 20, Levke Rickmers 6, Vicky Bright 4, Iv Hrstova 2, Jocelyn Lau 3, Shanty Cheung 2

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