After taking down Manchester in the first round of the Super League Basketball Play-offs at home last week, the Gladiators headed down to St Albans to face the Oaklands Wolves in the Semi-Final for a place in the final at the O2 Arena, London. In this must watch semi-final match-up between to two trophy winning sides, the Wolves took the narrow win after a hard-fought game on both sides. Despite their season ending one game short, the Gladiators had a season to be remembered, taking themselves to the SLB Trophy Final and bringing British silverware home for the first time in the women’s club’s history.
The much-anticipated match-up between these two sides put on a show for the fans, with a nail biting first half. With both teams struggling from behind the three-point line to start the game, both teams would show their skill under the basket. With little between them, the Gladiators would find themselves up by just a single point by the end of the first 10 minutes. The Gladiators shared the ball throughout the game and ended the first quarter with six players on the scoreboard, while Sam Ashby and Danielle McCray put up all the first quarter points for the Oaklands Wolves. The score at the end of the first quarter was 16 -17 to the Caledonia Gladiators.
The game remained close throughout the second quarter of action away on the road. The Gladiators took their largest lead of the game early in the second quarter, with a 4-point lead in the first minute and a half but the Wolves fought back and took the game back to a tie and take the lead. Throughout the quarter there was nothing between the two teams, with the possession often retying the game. At the end of the quarter, the Wolves would find themselves up by just two-points and this small lead kicked off their strong second half momentum.
The score at half-time was 30 – 29 to Oaklands Wolves.
The Wolves would storm into the second half after both teams were evenly matched in the first half. The Wolves would start the third quarter with a scoring run to bring the game to double digit lead, forcing the Gladiators to take an early timeout after just two and a half minutes of the quarter. Back-to-back three pointers by Hannah Robb would bring the game back to within six points and the Gladiators would settle back into the game after a scary start to the half. Behind the strong three-point shooting of Robb and Mathilde Domenger, the Gladiators cut the lead to just three, but with Oaklands tasting blood in the water, the Gladiators would struggle to stop the strong team from keeping their lead. The score entering the final quarter of action, and with a place in the final on the line, was 56 – 49 to Oaklands Wolves.
In true warrior fashion, the Gladiators kept their heads held high and would fight throughout the final 10 minutes of action, cutting the Wolves leads to just one-point quickly in the fourth quarter. With the intensity of the game increasing, and both teams knowing what is at stake, the two teams increased the defensive pressure and fought hard for every possession and basket. A tight game saw the Gladiators battling for every ball but they would be unable to reclaim any lead in the fourth and ultimately fell to the Wolves by just 4-points.
An incredible season for the Gladiators was cut one game short this afternoon as they fell to the Oaklands Wolves by 4. The score at the end of the game was 69 – 65 to Oaklands Wolves.
A special thank you to every one of our players and coaching staff for their hard work throughout the season, both on the court and in our community. Another thank you to all our fans and sponsors who were with us every step of the way. We look forward to welcoming you back for the 2025/26 season with us here at Playsport.
