ROCKETS GROUNDED BY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

READING Rockets Ladies were defeated as the newly crowned league champions visited the John Madejski Academy and took the points.

Ipswich Women arrived in outstanding form with their two most excellent players hitting 30 of the 38 points their team scored in the first half, including seven trebles between them.

The game began in a frantic way with fast basketball, end to end, many shots and sound defences from both teams.

However it wasn’t long before Harriet Welham and Cameron Taylor-Willis got their eye in stroking six trebles out of the 25-9 first break advantage.

Nothing was dropping for Rockets on a day when they needed everything to drop but hard defensive work in the second quarter restricted Ipswich to just 13 scoring points but still they had a 38-15 half-time advantage.

Coach Joan Portero Luque Lliria used the interval very effectively and Rockets came out blocking shots and finishing well themselves as Rockets went on 7-3 and 11-8 runs.

Two more stops disturbed Ipswich but they used their fire power to hit three more trebles and hurt the hosts again.

Rockets had only been to the free throw line twice in the first half compared to nine for Ipswich and still Rockets just weren’t getting the drops they deserved and needed.

A buzzer beating score didn’t put Ipswich out of their stride nor a couple of great blocks by Rockets and though Ipswich only took the third period 18-13, they still were comfortable with a 56-28 lead.

The final quarter saw Ipswich drain five more trebles making the final score appear more emphatic.

Rockets now look forward to the play-offs which start next weekend, where they face Loughborough

Riders Women.