When Mystics U14s visited Derby- the basketball hall, not the horse race – before Christmas, we had to dig deep enough to find coal in order to secure a win so we knew that we could not afford to be complacent in our home game when facing this tall, mobile, well-organised side. We weren’t. Even though we are competing at national league level every week, rather than in a community league, as I have done more often than not throughout the season, I again used all 10 Mystics for more or less an equal amount of time during the contest.

Due to our strength in depth, in no way did this hinder our performance against a side sitting fifth in the league table. Thankfully, everyone was more on song than most contestants are in the Voice! In fact, my pick n’ mix strategy proved to be much better value than that found in most cinemas! The first group I let loose saw Lucy Bryan, Lilja Toland, Ellie Atherton, Lauren Addy and Beth McLoughlin gel as well as any hair product to give us a 13-5 lead in their 5 minute spell. Their replacements – Courtney Kenyon-Betts, Olivia Forster, Ellie Hatton, Holly Bryan and Charli Wroe put in a 12-2 shift which was more enjoyable to watch than any Soap! 10 points in under 3 minutes from an on-fire Charli helped to ensure a dominant 25-7 first quarter which was more Waitrose than Lidl from which our opponents could not recover.

Everyone had performed so well up to now so it would probably be as hard as learning Chinese to match such a display in the second period, given that even very capable teams at this age range tend to be notoriously inconsistent and can be expected to go off the boil at some stage. In the third, the same first group managed a 10-9 spell, followed by a 7-2 one from the second. This was still good enough to give us a pleasing 42-18 half-time lead. My (usually wonky!) aim during the opening 20 minutes had been to field 2 well-balanced, even 5s. As it turned out, this was the case, given that the first group were more potent offensively with 23 of our 42 points while the second group got the nod defensively by conceding just 4 of the 18 points. Bearing in mind that none of us ever stops learning (as Joey Essex once told Albert Einstein!), this proved to be an informative exercise (which is more than I can say for any Algebra lesson I ever sat through!)

Throughout the second half I mixed the combinations and this worked as well as a candy coated chocolate peanut. (A treat!) Whichever 5 players I threw together blended as well as any good cake mix. We won the third quarter 21-11 and the fourth 18-4 to finish with an emphatic 81-33 win against spirited opposition whose coaches were very gracious in defeat and complimented us on our team-work and strength in depth. Hopefully, these are 2 of the qualities which will stand us in good stead in the forthcoming play-offs. What number seed we will be and who we play in the round of the last 16 currently remains as much of a mystery as any Agatha Christie murder plot! I have been given different versions by 3 people who are supposed to know as they are in positions of authority, but, there again, so are Donald Trump and Boris Johnson! 

With the play-offs not scheduled until 25/26 March, I will be trying to get friendly games arranged before then as we don’t want to go into them cold. Thanks again to James and Sammy for their great support, to Phil and Andy for doing the table so efficiently and to all team supporters.

Jim Carnegie.

Manchester Mystics’ Georgia Jones and Dominique Allen make the WBBL Stat Stars list for the month of February. Both Jones and Allen make the list for the second month running, though this time they are both in different statistical categories.

WBBL Stat Stars for February:
Mystics’ Georgia Jones averaged 20 points per game https://t.co/mcp0REFPg1 pic.twitter.com/UTmRVH1kSa — Manchester Mystics (@Mcr_Mystics) March 2, 2017

Georgia switches from leading the league in assists to being one of a handful of players to average 20 points per game over the month of February. 

WBBL Stat Stars for February:
Mystics’ Dominique Allen leads the league in steals per game with 3.3 https://t.co/mcp0REFPg1 pic.twitter.com/bTtZbUApHB — Manchester Mystics (@Mcr_Mystics) March 2, 2017

Dominique Allen switches from heading up the shooting percentage and rebounds lists to leading the league in steals with 3.3 steals per game in the month of February.

Mystics U14s penultimate Northern Conference of the season at Tameside had as much riding on it as a 3 jockeyed horse in terms of both league position and, as far as the girls were concerned, all-important bragging rights. The winners would almost certainly be conference runners-up to Nottingham and go into the play-offs as #4 seeds, guaranteeing 2 potential home games up to the Final Fours against seed #13 (probably Derby) and then, if successful, seed #5 (probably Haringey.) The losers could not hope to be seeded any higher than #7 which would mean only 1 home game and a tough away game in the quarter finals. 

A reshuffled first five brought about by (justified) absence from training took the floor, knowing we would have to attack Tameside’s very effective press and find ways to restrict the prolific scoring of their #6, Maddy Owen. We had managed to do both very well in the home fixture which we won comfortably but today would be different.

We were faced with a court which had more lines than a Shakespeare play, a supportive home crowd and opponents desperate to avenge the loss from game one. it was a local derby, so local that several of the girls play in the same school side as one another and are good friends for most of the time. All this made it nothing short of a showdown! It was City v United, Arsenal v Totteringham, Bury v Rochdale! Even the referees (who were both excellent) were expecting a ‘very close game.’ 

We, too, had our usual loyal band of supporters so this game couldn’t have been played in a library. Even Beethoven would have been able to hear the noise! After a nervy couple of minutes, we settled down well and had the upper hand for most of the first quarter, taking a 15-9 lead despite missing more straightforward opportunities than normal, mainly due to rushing. Then with 2 minutes to go in the quarter, someone must have pushed the ‘feel free to do daft things’ button. We fell apart like an over-cooked leg of lamb, making more mistakes than I made on my first, disastrous driving test in about 1925! This allowed Tameside back into it at 15-14 and would have been even worse had they not missed all 3 of their free throws.

The mini-hangover looked in danger of becoming a maxi one for the first 5 minutes of the second period as our opponents went 20-22 up. I’m pleased to report that this was as bad as it got. The use of a cattle prod would have been my preferred option but, instead, I resorted to psychology to try to turn things round. Of course, it helps that this group of young ladies are incredibly tough mentally and never see anything as a lost cause. I’m going to write this next paragraph slowly, partly because both people who read this rubbish are slow readers and partly because I still can’t quite believe it myself.

For virtually the whole of the remaining 25 minutes Mystics were as irresistible as the finest cream cakes are to a hungry, greedy fat man with a sweet tooth. Purely by being more composed, we ran in an incredible 62 more points with all 10 team members playing their part either on court or on the bench as cheer leaders. Try as they might, Tameside were no more able to stem the flow than King Canute was whenever.

Each Mystic merits an honorable mention. Charli Wroe was outstanding. She dashed up and court like Usain Bolt. The only difference was that she’s small, white and female. He’s not! Holly Bryan ought to be nicknamed ‘Super Glue.’ This has nothing to do with solvent abuse. She simply holds everything together for us at both ends of the floor. She, too, stood out. Our ace defender, Courtney Kenyon-Betts was given the unenviable task of trying to subdue the physically bigger and stronger Maddy Owen, a role she had carried out almost to perfection in the first meeting. This time it proved more problematic but she again did a fine job here and in managing to nullify the press.  Lucy Bryan makes me feel tired just watching her play! She puts me in mind of the Spencer Davis song of the 1960s, ‘Keep on running.’ She never stopped! Her body must contain more energy than a whole crate of Lucozade. Lilja Toland is a good listener and continues to improve. She gave us a performance as polished as a shelf load of Pledge, particularly on defence where she made more steals than the Artful Dodger and played with her usual aplomb to give a masterclass in how to play on and off the ball defence.

Off the bench, Ellie Atherton once more found herself matched up largely with much bigger players. This never daunts her and she showed her usual determination and doggedness. She worked extremely hard and gave us defensive stability when we needed it most despite being knocked over more often than a punch-drunk boxer! Beth McLoughlin played a big part in our initial revival, going hard to basket to get to the foul line and converting most of her free throws. Foul trouble did again limit her minutes but when not on court her input was equally valuable. She was our choir mistress and this helped spur her team on to such an emphatic victory. Ellie Hatton played every second of the third quarter and gave us a classic example of how to play help defence without fouling. Yes, without fouling! (In joke!) She has the capacity to sniff out danger and can be justifiably proud of her contribution. Lauren Addy was going to be our foil to Tameside’s biggest player, G. Ikeh. However, G. Ikeh did not get on court so unfortunately, Lauren got less playing time than most of her team-mates on this occasion. That said, during her 2 spells on court, she played with assurance and confidence, rebounded well and got better and better defensively. Last but by no means oldest, Olivia Forster, with 2 years still left at this level, again did not look out of place. She got stuck in, as always, providing positive moments on and off the ball. She will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming seasons.

Thanks to James, Sammy and Ethan for their unswerving assistance. Thanks, too, to all those who gave their whole-hearted support which we can’t do without.

Next up, on Sunday, we host an accomplished Derby side and will need to be fully focused if we are to avoid what all ice-skaters fear- a slip up!

Jim Carnegie