Mystics 1 U14 followed up their tournament success at Northampton with a fine all-round team performance to overcome a very capable, well-organised Derby Trailblazers 83-72 last Sunday.

With all 12 Mystics getting on court in the first quarter, it may well have been difficult to find ant rhythm. It wasn’t.

We won the opening 10 minutes 21-12 but Derby had sufficient talent to respond.

They upped their game and went on a potentially damaging 4-16 run as Mystics over-dribbled and started playing street ball. A time-out was called to offer advice as to how to stop this.

The players listened and reacted admirably enough to put together a 14-2 run of their own to go into the half-time break 39-30 ahead.

We then played some eye-catching up-tempo basketball to open up a 22 point lead at 65-43.

This meant key players could now be withdrawn and all 12 Mystics could end up having had meaningful court time (which each of them made good use of.) Thanks to all parents for their much-valued support.

Next up is a ‘friendly’ against Mystics 2 U16 at 1:00pm next Saturday followed by our opening league fixture on 14th October away to Sheffield Hatters.

Jim

The Mystics 2 U14 Development Squad competed in the Northants Tournament yesterday in a Round Robin:

Mystics 21 – 34 Southend

Mystics 12 – 19 Hounslow

Mystics 22 – 8 Northants 1

Mystics 20 – 6 Northants 2

U14 Mystics 2 U14 Squad: Carina, Elizandra, Tallulah, Maisie, Ruby, Emily, Izzy, Ndey, Saffron, Rae, Kady and Jouna.

All the girls got good court time, played very hard, including the mini-marvel, Kady (the wizard) and with great spirit. Many thanks to all the parents for their fantastic support.

We are on the way!

The Mystics U14s had their first ever outing as a group last Saturday when they travelled down to Northampton to take part in a 6 team tournament organised by Northants Lightning.

The players were a real credit to the club both on and off court.

After an understandably jittery start in the opening game which saw us come from behind to sneak a 3 point win over Hounslow, Mystics settled down quickly and excellent team basketball resulted in very comfortable wins against Northants U13s, Southend, Northants U14s and Brentwood to end the day undefeated.

Mystics U14s next fixture is Sunday 24th September when they will go to Derby for a pre-season friendly.

Great Britain frontcourt star and 2017 WBBL Cup Final MVP Dominique Allen will be wearing the colours of Manchester Mystics again in 2017-18.

She joins fellow Brits Rheanne Bailey, Georgia Jones and Lauren Thomas-Johnson who have also been confirmed as returnees during recent days.

Allen had a brilliant first campaign in the WBBL and almost turned in a double-double season – one that was typified by being crowned MVP in Birmingham at the showpiece WBBL Final against Nottingham Wildcats.

“It is safe to say Dom had a break out year in her first season in the WBBL with some tremendous performances, but more importantly, she really seemed to enjoy her basketball and that was infectious on the others,” smiled Mystics Coach, Jeff Jones.

“She obviously had to carry the main load for us last year as far as our inside presence which she did extremely well. Our priority is getting her some help in that department which we are close to doing so.

“From our perspective, we will need Dom to continue to grow as a player and assume much more of a leadership role within the team structure. I am looking forward to continuing to develop her as a player.”

Meanwhile after confirming the backbone of his side are now signed up, Jones is ready to reveal further arrivals in coming weeks to keep Mystics competitive in what promises to be the best WBBL season yet.

He added: “Managing to keep the core of the team together from last year has been important and we need to have some players step up.

“After last year, they have demonstrated the desire to do that and I am looking forward to their development.

“We will be adding 3 to 4 new players to the roster over the next few weeks and we have 2 players that will be coming in in October due to other playing commitments, so they will have to hit the ground running.

“I think some teams have really stepped up their playing talent and the league will be extremely competitive, but we are looking forward to the challenge?,” concluded Jones.

Lauren Thomas-Johnson is to suit up once again with Manchester Mystics and looks set to be a powerful force after recording an impressive return to the WBBL last season.

After coming back from maternity leave, the former Hatters star and GB international caught fire with Mystics, not only enjoying WBBL Cup silverware shortly after her re-integration, but finishing the season as one of the form players in the league.

“I am so excited to get back to it and keep the ball rolling from what I started last season when obviously I came into it part of the way through,” stated Thomas-Johnson

“It’s not been the easiest after becoming a mum in terms of getting back to where I wanted to be, but I have been working hard and I feel like I have now lost some of the weight that I needed to.

“I am ready to get back to the old Lauren and I think it is great that I can offer experience to the team along with some of the other players who are returning.”

The flexibility of Thomas-Johnson who can play multiple positions and her nice athleticism, smarts and scoring touch, are all massive positives that Mystics head coach Jeff Jones is only too happy to have back in the mix.

He declared: “Lauren came to the team in early January after the birth of her son and helped us with her experience and basketball IQ.

“Needless to say she had to adjust her game a bit, but I believe it helped her in certain ways not always relying on her athleticism.

“She has been working hard in the gym over the summer and we are looking forward to seeing the benefits on the floor this season.

“It will be tough for her juggling parenthood and playing, but I am more than confident she will be able to handle it and her experience will invaluable to us as a team,” stated the play-caller.

Thomas-Johnson made an immediate impact for Mystics last season by racking up more than 13 points and 6 boards per outing in the WBBL Championship

Manchester Mystics will once again rely on the backcourt leadership of Georgia Jones after the Great Britain guard agreed to play a second season with her hometown club.

One of the leading stars of the WBBL, Jones had been a standout performer for a number of seasons with Leicester before transferring her talents to Mystics for 2016-17.

Since last summer’s move to the club, she has lit it up in a big way for Manchester, guiding them to the 2017 WBBL Cup and completing a memorable father-daughter success with head coach Jeff Jones.

“It feels great to be back in Manchester for another season,” said the guard.

“I think last year we surprised a few people, but this year people will be expecting more from us so we will be facing a different kind of challenge.

“Obviously the Cup Final win was a huge highlight for us last season, but our aim is to bring more trophies to Manchester this year. We have a great core group returning, along with a few new faces and the chemistry is already starting to build.”

She continued: “Every team seems to have strengthened their roster this year which is exciting and will only increase the overall standard of the league.

“As for our team, we are all just looking forward to getting the season underway and seeing what this years team is capable of.”

Meanwhile Coach Jones is thrilled to get his point guard back for another term.

“Georgia did what she has always done – she led the side and put any nepotism aside,” commented the play-caller.

“Her contribution to the team last year was vital to our success and she is one of the best point guards around.

“She played with the freedom she needed and was able to run the team on the floor exceptionally well.

“This season is going to be tough again in terms of minutes on the floor and if we are able to reduce that, then I believe her performances can get even better,” added the Coach.

Jones was included in the prestigious Molten WBBL Team of the Year for 2016-17 and led the WBBL Championship in assists with almost seven per game.