5th December 2017
22
Sport
Basketball get their head in the game at Lincoln was coming out to defend Silke put up the shot - the three point shot was a success, but her celebration was what topped off the play! The player of the game went to Giulia, who was outstanding on both offence and defence, totting up 23 points.
Amy Choi Sports Writer Women’s basketball faced the University of Lincoln in the first round of the BUCS cup, looking to make it into the quarter finals and continue their 7-game winning streak. Undefeated in both BUCS and Norfolk Local League, their morale was high going into the game, despite only having six players being able to travel. The first quarter started with some easy buckets, getting UEA a quick lead that set a mark for the rest of the game. Rhéanna Maitland, starting rookie for the team, scored six points in the quarter and was decisive on defence with her rebounds. Maitland’s six added to UEA’s score of 17, to Lincoln’s seven in the first quarter.
“The first quarter set off with some easy buckets” The second quarter began with several fast-break plays, with Amy Choi getting some easy assists to Giulia Corsetti-Antonini and
“At the half UEA were up 3815 and ... they continued their strong defence and offence”
from the three point line which she has practiced to perfection in training. Coming up the court, Giulia called the play which followed by Hana setting a screen on the top defender. Silke set herself in position behind her Hana and was passed the ball. As a Lincoln player
However, unselfish play won UEA the game, with everyone making smart decisions to play to each other’s strengths. Lincoln were held to less than 10 points each quarter with the biggest difference being a 27 to 7 point fourth quarter, proving UEA’s stamina and resilience to the last whistle. The final score was 84 – 29, a stunning victory to make it 8 and 0 in the season – an amazing start to the year which they hope to continue throughout the season.
PB by over a minute, 54:56. Michael ducked under the magic hour with 59:47. The team enjoyed seeing alumnus and ex-president Tom Huband, who was racing in the proto-col Chilly Duathlon before the first BUCS wave set off. He came 10th overall with 6th fastest bike time (again!). UEA set off back to campus, stopping off for a debrief at the usual
South Mimms services. The team would like to give special thanks minibus and van drivers Simon Brown (also chief mechanic) and Katie Houston, car drivers Bethany Plummer and Nancy Connolly also, kudos and thanks to alumnus Dr Dave Chesterman who drove down after a long shift to cheer us on and grab some great GoPro footage. As always, UEA will be back again next year.
Photo: Barry Ford Saori Furukawa. Giulia and Saori shone from the 3-point line, taking advantage of Lincoln’s defence who were slow to get out to UEA’s shots. Saori made some great steals, anticipating the pass and making easy lay ups on the offensive end. At the half UEA were up 38 – 15 and, looking to build on this, they
continued their strong defence and offence. Hana Sztepanov’s hustle gained UEA rebounds on both ends of the court, which she then translated into several points, scoring 22 overall in the game. The offensive play of the game was drawn up by UEA’s coach, Barry Ford, to play to Silke Arets’ strength
Personal bests for UEA duathletes Caolan Stowe Sport Reporter
BUCS Duathlon – the biggest runbike-run event on our race calendar each year - is a two-mile run, tenmile cycle, followed by a final twomile run to the finish. This year UEA Duathlon took twenty triathletes to race at Castle Combe circuit, an equal spread of ten men and ten women. Fearing the worst as the minibus was pelted with rain along the M4 on Saturday, conditions were surprisingly mild on by the time the first wave set off just after 1pm the next day, cold but dry and bright. All of the UEA competitors did exceptionally well, some brilliant first-time results and lots of PBs for returning duathletes. Bikes racked in transition, warm outer layers stripped off and lastminute fuel in the form of Go Native energy bars taken on board, UEA were ready to race. First up were the elite men (Jake Brockwell, Matt Floyd, James McLean, and Caolan Stowe), with Brockwell sprinting a 5:08 first mile, pushing ahead of other UEA participants. Floyd made up some time in T1 then managed to pass Jake on the bike. Meanwhile Brockwell and I were battling for third UEA male on the bike, where Brockwell managed to make up lost time on the first run to come steaming past a large chunk of the field.
Onto the final two-mile run, Brockwell managed to push on and get past Floyd – both deep in the pain cave by this time. Brockwell crossed the line in a time of 45:19.7 putting him in 52nd place, with Floyd only five seconds behind in 53rd. As I racked my bike in transition, I could see James McLean disappear around the corner. The few seconds I managed to gain on the second run weren’t enough to catch up with the Irish powerhouse, who crossed the line in 49:30, thirty-six seconds ahead of my newly set PB. Whilst the elite men were pounding the pavement in the final leg of the race, the elite women set off: Hannah Bye, Abby Carter, Nancy Connolly, Daisy Donaldson, Bethany Plummer, Holly Prentice, Lydia Felton, and Katie Houston. Bye was fastest UEA woman in all three legs, with a time of 51:10.1 earning her an impressive 19th place in a very competitive field. After the first run, Connolly was the second UEA elite woman, with just over a minute on Carter in third at this point. Carter’s impressive bike split of 25:56 allowed her to overtake Connolly before they both hurtled into the final run. Connolly made up some time over the two miles, coming in 54 seconds after Carter finished with 56:01. The final mixed wave set off at 2:30pm, with plenty of athletes representing UEA Tri: Ollie Tooth,
Photo: Simon Brown Michael Michaelides, Henryk Haniewicz, Fufu Fang, Peter McCarthy, Georgia Penrose, Pat Niyomsilp, and Kelly Phillips. Tooth led the way from the gun, Michaelides hot on his tail coming into T1 just 4 seconds behind. Tooth managed to pull away on the bike putting him in a great position as he dismounted and headed into T2. Hampered by a stitch on the second run, he still managed to smash his