Oaklands Wolves: The women’s team from St Albans are looking for SLB Trophy glory
It’s the first year of the Super League final – Newcastle Eagles will take on Bristol Flyers in the men’s competition – following a name change from the British Basketball League.
The Wolves, who are based at Oaklands College, entered the BBL for the first time in 2016 and have never before reached the quarter-finals of the trophy competition.
Ella Foutu led the way in the semifinal against the Rebels with 21 points and Sarson added 10.
She joined the Wolves academy team before earning a scholarship to college in the United States, but remains mindful of her previous netball experience.
“You learn so many fundamentals in netball that carry over to basketball and even now for some of my passes I still credit netball because you have to move the ball pretty quickly in netball. That translates a lot,” Sarson said.
“I never thought I would go and play there (in the US). So it was a shock for me to get offers.
“Obviously, it’s a lot, you’re moving away from home, but not just to university in the UK, it’s a whole new country, a new culture. But the opportunity to play, it’s just a whole different game out there.”
After returning to play professionally for the Wolves, she is thrilled to see the reach of the game grow.
“Just the fact that people from other countries are telling me about the teams in our league, the word has spread and it’s so cool to see how many young girls are playing now,” she added.
The Women’s Trophy final between Wolves and Gladiators kicks off at 12:30 GMT on Sunday at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, with more than 8,500 tickets sold for the event.
2025-01-24 19:05:00
