BASKETBALL: Ed and Zac star as Thunder secure win over Wolves

After their disappointing defeat at the hands of Coventry Tornadoes on the previous weekend, the Northants Junior Men bounced back with a comfortable victory against the current basement team.

Thunder stormed into a 39-17 lead after the first quarter and despite the remainder of the match being more competitive, there was no way back for the Wolves.

Ed Wallhead and Zac Kitchen led the Thunder scoring with 27 and 21 points respectively.

Good support came from Cameron Samuels with 14 points, while Sam Savory enjoyed his best National League outing with nine points.

Ashley top scores but Northants are beaten

NORTHANTS THUNDER have yet to win a game in 2018 after suffering a 106-56 defeat against Coventry Tornadoes in Under 14 Boys National League (Midlands West Conference).

Thunder were led in scoring by Ashley Kitchen with 21 points.

He was supported by 13 points from Benas Maldutis and 11 from Kris Dambruskas.

Connor claims 15 for Thunder in Bears loss

A BELOW-PAR performance from Northants Thunder saw them beaten 65-37 by Worcester Bears in the Under 16 Boys National League (Midlands West Conference).

Thunder worked hard defensively but in the first and third quarter they could only manage five points and many of the players seemed to have lost all confidence in their ability to score.

Bears employed a zone defence with pressure up the floor and this put the Thunder ball carriers under pressure.

Connor White battled manfully for his 15 points for Thunder before fouling out, while Adam Lewandowski contributed 12.

The rest of the team managed just 10 points between them.

Lucy leads the way but Lightning lose out

NORTHANTS LIGHTNING lost 77-58 to Manchester Mystics IIs in the Under 16 Girls National League (North Conference).

When Lucy Needham scored in the fourth minute of the third quarter to tie the scores up at 39-39, a Lightning win looked to be on the cards.

The Northants girls had battled back from a 15-point deficit thanks to a 12-2 charge at the end of the second quarter and a good start to the third.

They failed after converting just three of the 10 free throws they were awarded in the third quarter, and Manchester had been let off the proverbial hook.

With their bench reduced to just eight players by illness and injury, Lightning struggled in the final quarter.

Mystics opened the period with a 16-2 charge and it was game over as they closed out the win.

Lightning were led by 23 points from Needham and 12 from Dina Kosnikovska.

Burgess impresses despite big defeat

A MUCH-IMPROVED Northants Lightning were beaten 90-55 by Luton in the Under 14 Girls National League (Midlands Conference).

Despite the defeat, Lightning coach Karen Goodrich was upbeat about her team’s performance against a physically stronger Luton team..

Leisha Burgess and Dina Kosnikovska scored 13 and 11 points respectively for Lightning, with Burgess also pulling down 15 rebounds.

Goodrich made special mention of the cool play of Lucie Wilson-Gray, despite the guard being put under a

great deal of defensive pressure.

Tricky trio of games for Under-12 girls

IN search of competitive basketball, the Northants Under 12 girls made the long journey to Manchester to play in a four-team tournament.

Northants were beaten in their first match, losing 42-35 to Manchester Mystics Blue.

And if the first game had been physical, the second was more so.

Manchester Red stormed into a 13-2 first-quarter lead, but Lightning took the second quarter 14-7 to reduce the deficit to 20-16 at half time.

As the game became more physical, Manchester were able to cruise to a 41-27 win.

Lightning’s final game, against Sheffied Hatters was reduced to a running clock contest.

The Sheffield coach opted to play strong and weak fives so the scoreline had a topsy-turvy look to it, but a successful free throw from Keris Ndubisi tied it up at 18-18.

In the two minutes of overtime, Lightning had their chances but could only manage one more free throw,

with Hatters edging the win 20-19.