BASKETBALL - Varsity Matches
Friday 19 March 2010
Cambridge Lions began the day as perhaps the most favoured to upset their rivals, but a 3rd quarter scoring drought allowed Oxford Twos to pull away. The end result was a close 61-50 loss for the Light Blue team, but having played the game without their coach they came away fairly satisfied and itching for revenge next year.
The Ladies' squad fought hard in their match, which unfortunately was dominated by an NCAA star on the Oxford roster. Great defensive efforts from Caroline Walerud did challenge the number 15; however, with the shooting range and ball handling skills that come from the US collegiate system, she continued to overshadow the rest of her team and to cause problems for the light blues. The Cambridge squad (led by captain Kate Beniuk) had a strong side this year, especially with new coaching from third year Chemistry PhD student, Sam Qian. Unfortunately for Cambridge, there was little that could be done on the day about the best standout player the Varsity match has featured in several years. Coach Sam commented after the game that "At times she was playing at a level so far above her own teammates that it actually created problems for them. We had no answer today." Final Score: Oxford 62 - Cambridge 37. Squad: Kate Beniuk (c), Kim Lamza, Alexandra Zieritz, Briony Jones, Hanna Hörnberg, Paloma Navarro, Caroline Walerud, Stephanie Ko, Stephanie Polderdijk, Tina Herringshaw, Sarah Sheldon, Ritika Sood.
Following a tough loss for the Cambridge Women, the final match of the days saw the return of the England Universities duo of Reed Doucette and Stephen Danley - both college players from the US and a key part of an Oxford squad which is potentially the best in the country this year. The Blues had no choice but to be aggressive early on to combat Oxford's size advantage, and some strong early play kept the score line respectable. As the match wore on it became apparent just how fast and well drilled our opponents were, and we essentially had no way of stopping them getting open shots. Despite this Cambridge showed some excellent phases, and with all of the Oxford starting line up leaving this year the future looks brighter than the past. Final Score Oxford 117 - Cambridge 64
Overall the weekend highlighted the impact 1 or 2 quality American imports have on a 5-man sport as opposed to 15 a side rugby. The quality they brought was the key difference in the 2 Blues matches, and filters down to the 2nd teams as well. It will be interesting to see how Oxford fare without their star players next season.
Men's Blues Match
Oxford 117 - Cambridge 64
Women's Blues Match
Oxford 62 - Cambridge 37
Men's Second Team's Match
Oxford 2's 61 - Cambridge Lions 50
