Suffolk Basketball Team Reaches National Cup Final for Second Consecutive Season

For the second consecutive season, a basketball team from Suffolk has advanced to the National Cup final. Endeavour Ipswich Basketball’s senior women’s squad secured their place by defeating WNBL Division One competitors Loughborough Riders with a score of 72-62 in an away semi-final match. Ipswich is scheduled to face either the Thames Valley Cavaliers, whom they narrowly defeated for the trophy in the previous instance, or the Brent Bulls in the upcoming final on 19 January. According to head coach Nick Drane, the competition holds significant personal importance for him, as he characterizes it as a pivotal factor in the team’s progression. Ipswich secured the trophy for the first time in 2018, and the team has since been waiting six years for another chance to claim it. Drane stated, “When we won the cup as a Division Two side [in 2018], it signalled the start of the remarkable journey we have been on, both in terms of incredible team success, and individual stories involving local talent who others now aspire to be like.” In addition to their cup run, Ipswich currently occupies second place in the league standings, a title they also claimed last season. The coach described this standing as one he is “happy, but not happy enough” to hold. He further commented, “I went into this season saying ‘top four, have a cup run and no-one will want to play us in the play-offs’ and at Christmas we’re in the cup final and we’re second.” He acknowledged that he would have accepted this current standing at the season’s outset, considering the team had “lost so many key players and replaced them with youngsters.” Following their achievement of a league and cup double last season, Ipswich narrowly missed securing a historic treble after being defeated by the City of London Academy in the play-offs final. Nevertheless, having maintained a competitive performance across all competitions this season, they have another opportunity to pursue such an accomplishment. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.