SLB Trophy women’s final: Caledonia Gladiators beat Oaklands Wolves

Caledonia Gladiators lifted the women’s Super League Basketball Betty Codona Trophy with a thrilling victory over Oaklands Wolves at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.

The Scottish club claimed their first major title with a 61-59 victory as Mathilde Domenger led the scoring with a 17-point tally.

St Albans-based Wolves trailed by three with 1.5 seconds remaining as Shanice Beckford-Norton hit the first of two free throws.

They needed a rebound two-points to force added time but Lavinia da Silva hit the front rim as she gathered Beckford-Norton’s second attempt.

“We’ve had a bit of a hard season. We knew it was going to be a battle. Wolves are a very good team,” Gladiators head coach Chantelle Handy told DAZN Sport.

“It’s huge, it’s great exposure for Scottish basketball. We’re trying to develop things up there.

“Today it was about aggressively going for the rim. We talked about it all season, about [the] need to get more depth inside. They made it difficult for us, they put on a show, we knew it was going to be a great game and it’s been absolutely amazing.”

Although Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant had the game’s first score, Wolves – who have a 100% record in the league – were 19-14 behind after the first quarter.

Head coach Lee Ryan called two time outs in the second as he tried to gee up his team, as well as incurring a personal technical foul which Erin McGarrachan punished from the free throw line.

Gladiators extended their advantage to six points at the interval but the game was quickly turned on its head after the resumption as a three-pointer by Samantha Ashby helped the Wolves race into a 34-33 lead.

But Delaynie Byrne responded with a three of her own as the Gladiators recovered their composure, as the dangerous Beckford-Norton – Wolves’ top scorer with 15 – went to the sidelines after being penalised.

Wolves faced an eight-point deficit at the start of the fourth and Domenger extended it to double figures with the first basket.

But Ryan’s side were not finished and a three from McGhee-Pleasant was followed by a two-point steal by Ashby and when Ella Fotu burst through the middle for her first of the game, Wolves were just 51-50 in arrears.

Terrinique Battle twice was presented with free throw opportunities, converting only one from two on each occasion, but when Dani McCray found the range, it was 59-58 to Gladiators with 13 seconds remaining on the clock.

A foul enabled Tea Adams to score two from the line for Gladiators, whose 73% free throw success rate outstripped 48% by their opponents, and that proved decisive as Wolves failed to convert their last-ditch rebound ploy.