Muskies look good for points

Tayside and Fife’s two women’s Scottish National League sides Tayside Musketeers and St Andrews University are looking to finish their 2017 fixtures on a strong note.

Muskies are away to Polonia Phoenix at Gracemount High in Edinburgh today at 11am and should collect both points at the expense of a team who have lost several players to injury since their last encounter there.

Their formidable veteran Scottish internationalist power forward Julie Ritchie has been forced to retire at the age of 47 because of a knee injury which she dare not risk recurring.

Sharp-shooting point guard Lynsey Lochhead has been out for several weeks with an ankle injury, and coach Toni Szifris has been forced to blood some young players perhaps earlier than he would have wished.

Muskies’ final match of the year is a week on Sunday at home to muchimproved Glasgow Fever at Grove Academy.

Saints coach Callum Knox is confident his team are much better prepared to face Glasgow University women at the Stevenson Building today at 11.20am than when they lost 48-38 to GU at home in the Scottish Universities league at St Andrews recently.

Dunfermline Reign men are still reeling from their 40-point drubbing from joint league leaders St Mirren and will have to be at their best to beat the other leaders Falkirk Fury at St Columba’s HS today at 2.15pm.

Fury were put out of the Scottish Cup by a point in their semi-final against Edinburgh Kings last weekend and will want to make amends.