A record and noisy crowd for Oaklands Wolves spurred the team on to an important 77-66 win over Newcastle Eagles in the WBBL.
The St Albans-based basketball club put on a special ‘blackout’ event, with the squad wearing their dark away kit for the game at Oaklands College and all those arriving in black getting in for just £1.
The venture worked too as the Wolfpack leapt further up the table, aiding their pursuit of a play-off place.
And such was the amount of noise and support they gave, head coach Lee Ryan said he found it difficult to focus at times.
He said: “It was awesome. We had over 100 people there and the crowd were mega, they made a real difference.
“There was a real buzz, I had to really focus in terms of keeping my concentration during the game.
“Lizzie Harrison was excellent putting the thing together, the crowd turned out and everybody looked good in the kit.
“We’ll be doing more of them for sure.”
The game itself lived up to the occasion with Oaklands holding their Geordie opponents for the first three quarters before blowing them away in the fourth, Roya Rustamzada leading the charge with a total of 25 points.
It all means that Wolves are now seventh, level on points with the Eagles in sixth.
Ryan said: “We knew the importance of the game and had been talking about it all week.
“We had a disappointing performance away to them earlier in the season where it was another one of those that we let slid.
“But we knew we had to solidify our place and the players since the Trophy break have really embraced the idea of us getting into the play-offs.”
And worryingly for the rest of the league, Ryan believes his side can get even better.
He said: “Its six wins in seven now in the league so we’re in a good way and playing really well.
“Raquel Navarro-Martinez coming in has helped us like we thought it would with our rotation and that has settled us down.
“But having her come in means Roya’s playing in her true position and her confidence is sky-high right now.
“The team in general are gelling and the energy is flawless.
“But we had our ups and downs and we’re not the finished product which is still a good sign at this stage of the season.”
Elsewhere in the club the club’s D2 women also winning, beating Solent Kestels 56-42 while the U14 Girls picked up a 63-46 success over Haringey Angels.
However, there was no joy for the U14 Boys who lost 83-60 to London Youngblood Lions, the U16 Boys who went down 79-71 to Reading Rockets or the U16 Girls, who were defeated 73-66 against Sheffield Hatters.
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