Open invite from BNI Chair to anyone who is interested in developing the structure of the women's game! Please click below for the letter of invite

https://www.dropbox.com/…/Women%27s%20Basketball%202016.doc…

Well done to the 4 Academy girls making the Irish U18s please click below

http://www.basketballni.com/…/3-bni-player-make-irish-u18-…/

At long last we have managed to be able to put together a quick video on how to fill in the AccessNI forms.

If you are a Coach or club official who works with people under the age of 18 then you will need to ensure you have completed an AccessNI check. Please visit BasketballNI.com's Safeguarding section for more details.

In the next week we will review all pending applications and e-mail the applicant if their paperwork has not been submitted to direct them to revisit their applications.

If you have any questions please contact our Safeguarding Officer (safeguarding@basketballni.com)

Queens vs Towers - Thurs 19 Oct 2017

In what turned out to be a scrappy affair, Queens came out on top in this game. From the off, Queens took the lead, pushing the ball and running the plays. This lead to Towers getting into foul trouble in the first quarter. However, they hung in and were only a few baskets down at the end of the first with Gervin showing fight for the Tyrone team.

The second quarter started like the first for Queens, except this time they pushed Towers on both ends of the court. A young Queens team with some rookies in their ranks used good cuts to get easy looks at the basket. The quarter ended with Queens up 11 and seemingly in the driving seat.

The third quarter, however, did not go as planned for the young Belfast side. Some good defense and rebounding limited scores and gave easy fast break points for the Tyrone side even drawing them to within a couple of scores. However, Queens fought back and when they got a hang of the Tyrone zone showed a real know how in breaking it down.

The fourth quarter was scrappy. Even though Queens went up big early on they gave away foul after foul and ended up in early foul trouble. The rest of the quarter was a sequence of turnovers by both teams. The game ended with what seemed a comfortable score line which really wasn’t. Queens will take the W and move on to meet the Pumas next week.

Queens vs Wolves

Well, that was some start to the season! Queens, coming in under the guidance of Mark McCabe, had a young side, backed up with a few older individuals. The match started with a few steals for the young Queens side but Wolves hit back with several threes. Queens showed great work ethic but Wolves had an edge in terms of rebounding which proved to be Queens Achilles heal.

The second quarter showed glimpses of some good structured play by the young Queens side with play which they can build on throughout the year with a bit more time. Once again Wolves were out rebounding Queens and getting some easy baskets because of it. However, at the end of the second quarter Queens only trailed by a couple of baskets. 28-33

The third quarter is where the home team had most success. They out ran their opponents and with some good cuts by Monz and Smyth they were able to go ahead and take the lead. Wolves kept chipping away, especially in the rebound department. Queens failed to capitalise on the other team getting into foul trouble very early on, by missing several free throws.

Both teams went into the final quarter with a chance of a win for both. Wolves used some of their experience however to get them over the line. They hit several three pointers down the stretch which proved too much for the young Queens side.

Final score 57 - 60

Elks came into the game with a much younger side, both teams matched each other point for point in the first qtr with Maguire and A. Nee leading their teams from the tip. The first qtr ended 7-7. As the second qtr progressed, elks showed their youth on the fast break with A. Callaghan putting on a strong showing. For Blaze, A. Brennan scored some crucial shots in an effort to keep up with Ulster Elks pace. Half Time score: 23-13 to Elks. Elks proved too much to handle in the third and fourth as S. Moyes provided some great baskets to keep Blaze from coming back into the game.

Final Score : 43-25