Caledonia Gladiators have achieved another first for Scottish women’s basketball – after becoming the country’s first team to top 1000 fans for a home game in the sport’s history. The pro-basketball team sold a record 1016 tickets for the club’s tightly fought 58-66 loss against Super League Basketball league leaders Oaklands Wolves on Sunday.

The milestone comes just weeks after the club became Scotland’s s first women’s basketball team to win major silverware when they won the Super League Basketball Trophy Final in Birmingham, which was also against the Oaklands Wolves. Sunday’s attendance tops the previous record from April last year, when 917 supporters watched the club defeat Newcastle Eagles 90-58 at the Playsport arena in East Kilbride.

Head coach Chantelle Handy said:

“Topping 1000 fans for the first time for a Scottish team in a home match is an achievement we’re all extremely proud of. We’re really growing the sport here in Scotland, and this feels like another important milestone for us as a club. The support the fans have given us has been incredible since we moved to the new arena, and we want to continue to grow these numbers in the months and years ahead.”

Owner Steve Timoney said:

“I’d like to thank our supporters for the tremendous support they’ve given us since we moved to East Kilbride at the start of last season. It’s a real credit to Chantelle and the women’s team, and how they’ve performed recently that we’ve reached this landmark attendance for a women’s match. There’s a lot of important games for the men’s and women’s teams as the season progresses, and we’re hoping for some big more crowds in the coming weeks.”

In January the women’s team claimed their first major title with a 61-59 victory over Oaklands Wolves at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. The victory comes just under two years after the franchise’s men team won their first silverware in 20 years when they won the then BBL Trophy in 2022/23. It follows an impressive period of time for the women’s team, who last season became the first Scottish women’s basketball team to compete in European competition in 50 years, and won three of their fourgroup stage matches, before losing in the knockout stages. The women’s team, who again competed in Europe this year, currently sit in fifth place in Super League Basketball.