Norwich Lowriders continued to impress on the national stage with a third place finish in the Wheelchair Basketball Junior League finals.Norwich Lowriders continued to impress on the national stage with a third place finish in the Wheelchair Basketball Junior League finals.

The Recreation Road-based wheelers saw their Under-15 side match their countrywide rivals, while Lowriders’ Under-19 took a credible seventh place finish in their national finals.

Both sides have qualified for the league climax with third place finishes in the south and north regional leagues, booking their place at the Nottingham Wildcats Arena last weekend.

While it may have been slightly down on their debut season performance last year, of a second and sixth place finish for the Under-15 and Under-19 sides respectively, Norwich’s top wheelchair basketball team can be understandably delighted with their efforts this time around.

“Taking the bronze medal in only our second season is a great achievement for the Lowriders and I am very proud of all the players,” said delighted Under-15 coach Gordon Perry.

“We have a very strong squad and I expect a number of our players will be pushing for places in the under-19 team next season.”

The Under-19 side started the finals against defending champions, Sheffield Steelers, and the underdogs established an early lead thanks to Max Bode creating space and Lewis Weatherburn shooting with his usual accuracy.

However, the Steelers eventually took control and the brave Lowriders lost out 22-14.

Their subsequent move to the Plate competition started with Leeds Spiders, where Norwich once again took an early lead, Chris Girling working hard in attack and defence.

The Spiders improved and just held on 23-21 at the buzzer, despite a late rally through Josh Steels and Amy Conroy.

The play-off for seventh brought Lowriders up against old rivals the Wolverhampton Rhinos, with the sides sharing two victories in the regular season.

Another effective Lowriders start saw Will Smith help them to an eight-point lead and this time great defence by Elliott Waterfield and Marc Hewett, combined with skilful shooting by Ryan Cutter, helped Norwich cruise to a fully deserved 22-14 win and a final national league standing of seventh.

“It was a fantastic experience for our young Under-19 squad who were playing at this level for the first time,” said coach Mark Smith. “Being competitive against some of the best junior players in the country will add to our self-belief both as individuals and as a team, and we look forward to making further progress again next season.”

The Under-15 team began with the Newcastle Eagles, where strong defence by Ben Foster and quick breaks by Joel Connor-Saunders set things up for Alfie Hewett’s last gasp basket to earn a dramatic13-12 win.

The semi-finals brought Belfast Knights, who finished top of the southern league.

The lead changing time and again, while Al Roger and Alex Mitton linked well and Emil Roger scored his first basket for the team to keep matters finely balanced.

But Knights shut out their Norwich opponents in the final quarter to earn a 21-19 win and leave Norwich with bronze to aim for.

And that was secured against Milton Keynes Aces, thanks to Sam Mack shooting almost per cent accuracy.

Good passing and movement by Rosie Hodgson and Chloe Ambrose allowed Lowriders to run out deserved 29-15 winners and secure third overall.

“I would like to thank all our noisy supporters who cheered both teams on last Saturday, along with all our sponsors who have helped us this season,” said team manager Lisa Waterfield.

“We will continue to train over the summer at Recreation Road Sports Centre and would welcome any new players interested in joining the team.”

Norwich Lowriders – U15: Alfie Hewett, Alex Mitton, Chloe Ambrose, Rosie Hodgson, Sam Mack, Ben Foster, Al Roger, Emil Roger, Joel Connor-Saunders; U19: Will Smith, Chris Girling, Amy Conroy, Max Bode, Elliott Waterfield, Josh Steels, Lewis Weatherburn, Marc Hewett, Ryan Cutter.

Ü Anyone interested in joining the Lowriders, as either a player or sponsor, can contact Lisa on 07766 778528.

The Recreation Road-based wheelers saw their Under-15 side match their countrywide rivals, while Lowriders’ Under-19 took a credible seventh place finish in their national finals.

Both sides have qualified for the league climax with third place finishes in the south and north regional leagues, booking their place at the Nottingham Wildcats Arena last weekend.

While it may have been slightly down on their debut season performance last year, of a second and sixth place finish for the Under-15 and Under-19 sides respectively, Norwich’s top wheelchair basketball team can be understandably delighted with their efforts this time around.

“Taking the bronze medal in only our second season is a great achievement for the Lowriders and I am very proud of all the players,” said delighted Under-15 coach Gordon Perry.

“We have a very strong squad and I expect a number of our players will be pushing for places in the under-19 team next season.”

The Under-19 side started the finals against defending champions, Sheffield Steelers, and the underdogs established an early lead thanks to Max Bode creating space and Lewis Weatherburn shooting with his usual accuracy.

However, the Steelers eventually took control and the brave Lowriders lost out 22-14.

Their subsequent move to the Plate competition started with Leeds Spiders, where Norwich once again took an early lead, Chris Girling working hard in attack and defence.

The Spiders improved and just held on 23-21 at the buzzer, despite a late rally through Josh Steels and Amy Conroy.

The play-off for seventh brought Lowriders up against old rivals the Wolverhampton Rhinos, with the sides sharing two victories in the regular season.

Another effective Lowriders start saw Will Smith help them to an eight-point lead and this time great defence by Elliott Waterfield and Marc Hewett, combined with skilful shooting by Ryan Cutter, helped Norwich cruise to a fully deserved 22-14 win and a final national league standing of seventh.

“It was a fantastic experience for our young Under-19 squad who were playing at this level for the first time,” said coach Mark Smith. “Being competitive against some of the best junior players in the country will add to our self-belief both as individuals and as a team, and we look forward to making further progress again next season.”

The Under-15 team began with the Newcastle Eagles, where strong defence by Ben Foster and quick breaks by Joel Connor-Saunders set things up for Alfie Hewett’s last gasp basket to earn a dramatic13-12 win.

The semi-finals brought Belfast Knights, who finished top of the southern league.

The lead changing time and again, while Al Roger and Alex Mitton linked well and Emil Roger scored his first basket for the team to keep matters finely balanced.

But Knights shut out their Norwich opponents in the final quarter to earn a 21-19 win and leave Norwich with bronze to aim for.

And that was secured against Milton Keynes Aces, thanks to Sam Mack shooting almost per cent accuracy.

Good passing and movement by Rosie Hodgson and Chloe Ambrose allowed Lowriders to run out deserved 29-15 winners and secure third overall.

“I would like to thank all our noisy supporters who cheered both teams on last Saturday, along with all our sponsors who have helped us this season,” said team manager Lisa Waterfield.

“We will continue to train over the summer at Recreation Road Sports Centre and would welcome any new players interested in joining the team.”

Norwich Lowriders – U15: Alfie Hewett, Alex Mitton, Chloe Ambrose, Rosie Hodgson, Sam Mack, Ben Foster, Al Roger, Emil Roger, Joel Connor-Saunders; U19: Will Smith, Chris Girling, Amy Conroy, Max Bode, Elliott Waterfield, Josh Steels, Lewis Weatherburn, Marc Hewett, Ryan Cutter.

Anyone interested in joining the Lowriders, as either a player or sponsor, can contact Lisa on 07766 778528.

Article from the Evening News webiste – Accessed 31st March 2010