Middlesex First Division- Westside vs Cardinals 12/10/2003

It was a day to remember as Westside kicked off their new season at their new homecourt at Burlington Danes School on Sunday. It was doubly memorable as this season sees the addition of a womens team to the growing successes of the senior men and junior squads and it was the Westside women who kicked off the season in the Middlesex League opener against Cardinals. After a 5 - 0 start for the home team, nerves began to show and Cardinals battled back to lead at the end of the first quarter 6 - 9. A change in their defensive alignment kickstarted the team in action as they overcame their early jitters and began to play the intense defence and full court offence which is the trademark of all the Westside teams scoring nineteen points in the second quarter and allowing none past their aggressive zone. This continued in the second half and after allowing nine points in the first 10 minutes, they managed to hold Cardinals to 17 points for the last three quarters as they ran out winners 72 - 26. The top scorer for Westside was Eleni Kerchoglou with 20 points. Coach Frank Lamptey commented "It was a credible performance for their first game but there are still a lot of things to work on. The women have an opportunity to establish an identity as a tough team and there will be some pressure on them because of the accomplishments of the mens team but I am sure they can handle it and create a stir this season".

Middlesex First Division- Chiltern vs Westside 26/10/2003

Sundays game was not a game for the weak as the Westside women travelled to High Wycombe to play last seasons runnerups, Chiltern and were seeking to bounce back from their home defeat against Kingston. The theme of this game was defence as both teams struggled to find any offensive flow in the first quarter and inconsistent refereeing didn't contribute to the scoring of both teams. However, it was Chiltern who settled first and by halftime they had opened an eight point lead. After the break, it was Westside who came out with a new attitude as they changed their tactics and ran a full court press forcing their opponents into several turnovers whilst playing stifling defence. At the end of the third quarter, Westside led by a point but the momentum of the game was firmly with the team from Shepherds Bush as Chiltern had limited answers for their speed and hustle. This continued in the fourth quarter as Westside opened up a ten point lead and despite Chilterns attempts to rally, the victory was never in doubt and the final score was 33 - 28. Coach Frank Lamptey commented "Todays game was not particularly pretty to watch partly due to the officials having little control of the game. Basketball is supposed to be non contact but when the referees allow people to grab and hold without blowing their whistle then your offence is going to suffer. Defensively, we were very strong and after giving up 50 points last week I was glad that we came back from 12 down by increasing our defensive intensity and holding Chiltern to under 30 points. We showed that we can deal with adverse situations and come out on top so that is good to know". The games leading scorer was Tracy Childs with 8 points.

Middlesex First Division- Westside vs Pimlico Jets 30/11/2003

It was a winning weekend for the Westside Basketball Club as both the womens and mens team notched up victories in the Middlesex League. The women entertained the Pimilico Jets at Burlington Danes on Sunday with the opportunity to go third in the table with a victory. Westside started strong with a 8-0 run in the first five minutes playing stong defence and creating turnovers. Pimilico came back into the game with a few scores of their own but Westside continued to execute and the score after the first quarter was 17 - 6. Both teams struggled for offense in the second and third quarters as the game got more physical but Westside maintained a 10 point advantage going into the last quarter. Pimilico scored early to cut the lead to 8 points but Westside stepped up their defence to keep their opponents from scoring until the minute by which time the lead had grown to 14 points. The opposition continued to fight and scored the last four points of the game but Westside prevailed and the final score was 43 - 33. Coach Frank Lamptey commented "This was a hard fought victory today with everybody focusing on our defensive intensity. It wasn't pretty to watch but as the team is continuing to build an identity as a tough team so we have to learn from physical games." The leading scorer was Amanda Porter with 12 points.

<Back