Brixton Topcats women’s team were in fearsome form as they trounced Leeds Beckett University at the Brixton Rec yesterday afternoon. The visitors were unable to cope with swift interchanges and a deluge of three-pointers with Jenaya Wade-Fray, Tayani Clarke and Amber Charles dominating in offence.
Amber Charles boosted the home team with 18 points while Tayani Clarke added 15 points and seven rebounds. The 80-40 home win against Leeds helped the Topcats close to within two points of the WBBL Play-off positions.
Sevenoaks Suns’ loss at the hands of Cardiff Met Archers earlier on in the day paved the way for the Brixton side to close the gap. Topcats head coach Steve Vear hailed the clinical, morale boosting, win in a season that he believes has been ‘up and down’ for the team.
Speaking after the game Vear said: “The season so far has been a bit up and down. It’s been a very difficult season for us with players coming in and out. But today we showed really good character to win. I’m very happy about that as we have been working hard in practice and it’s showing on the court.
“It’s really good for morale and good for the team as we get to close season and hopefully make the play-offs. Players are doing well fitness and performance wise. The season is long and we started with a lot of double headers and a lot of travelling to play other teams across the country, which can cause a bit of fatigue.
“But we’re a team that is in great shape and we’ve had a good pre-season so we can’t use tiredness as an excuse. We’re lucky that we’ve got a lot of players who are in shape. Right now we are trying to push hard for those play-offs”.
London rivals Barking will be the Topcats’ opponents in two back-to-back games in two weeks time on Saturday and Sunday. Vear is confident that a win in both games should be enough to secure a play-off place.
“Barking are a very good side and very well coached. We’ve beaten them already in the first part of the season, but we’ve got a new team and they’ve got a new team so the games are going to be tough”, Vear added. “I’m always confident about our game though and if we play like we did today we should get the win”.
Follow @ brixtontopcats and @SJVear on Twitter for updates on the Topcats progress in the Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL).
