Hinckley Ladies net promotion with victories in season finales
HINCKLEY Ladies A team had to bring their game forward against Nuneaton Old Eds and were unsure if a win would seal them promotion as everyone else’s last game of the season was still a week away. Regardless, Hinckley wanted to go all out and enjoy their final match of the season with a win.
That they did by taking a 12 goal lead in the first quarter. Nuneaton Old Eds also showed some good play with a new shooting duo and once again the defensive partnership in the circle ensured the Hinckley shooters were kept at bay not stretching their lead too far. With excellent timing, driving and linking down court from defence to attack Hinckley were put in a really comfortable position and they saw it through to a 40-19 win. Player of the match was Ashleigh Oakes.
The A team have lost only three games all season, losing two of those by no more than three goals. This put Hinckley in an excellent position for promotion. However, due to good competition from Harbury and Rugby, they were also in the promotion race.
Harbury and Rugby also had to win their final games to get promoted. Rugby succeeded but Harbury lost, which left Hinckley and Harbury level on points. As a result of the consistency of shooting by Hinckley’s Carole Payne and Carmen Whitaker, Hinckley won promotion on goal difference. This is only the second time in Hinckley Ladies history that the A team have been in Division 1 and they hope to perform well and remain there to create even more history.
For Hinckley’s D team on the final match day it was all down to two matches to determine who was being promoted in Division 5.
After Henley defeated Hinckley C earlier in the day there was only a one point difference between second and third place. If promotion was going to be achieved then the Ds had to beat top of the division Highway.
Settling down quickly into a fluent rhythm, Hinckley took an early lead in the first quarter. Going onto the second, Highway’s attack piled on the pressure but Hinckley’s flawless defence of Emma Draycott and Bethany Willars denied the strong Highway shooters opportunities to close the gap. Changes at half time from Highway brought increased pressure for Hinckley leaving everything to play for in the final period. Undeterred and throwing everything they had for the last 15 minutes, Hinckley’s defence fought for every interception, allowing centre court to drive the ball safely up the court to the strong shooting partnership. The final score was 35-30 to Hinckley. POM went to the incredible Emma Draycott at GK.