Sheffield Steelers

new fixtures - season 2011/2012:

12.11. 1pm Rhinos home

20.11. 1pm Owls away

26.11. 1pm Capital City home

10.12. 1pm Owls home

07.01. 11am Rhinos away

14.01. 1pm Capital City away

21.01. 11.30am Capital City away

12.02. 2pm Owls home

25.02. 1pm  Rhinos home

17.03. 1pm Capital City home

24.03. 1pm Owls  home

TBC  Rhinos away

Fixtures 2010/2011 - 1. Division Team A:

12.09. 12pm Steelers B home 48-50 loss

19.09. 11am Rhinos 2 home 45-68loss

26.09. 12pm Steelers B    home 50-54 loss

24.10. 11am Warriors home 78-29win

07.11. 11am Owls home 46-34 win

13.11. 13pm Eagles away 55-75win

14.11. 12pm Phoenix away 47-61 win

28.11. 12pm Eagles home

17.04. 5pm Rhinos 2 away

09.01. 1pm Owls away 40-49 win

12.02. 12.30pm Jaguars away  43-62 win

27.02. 2.30pm Warriors away 30-58 win

06.03. 12pm Phoenix home 69-54 win

01.05. 12pm Jaguars home

Fixtures 2010/2011 - 1. Division Team B:

12.09. 12pm Steelers A home 50-48 win

19.09. 5pm Rhinos 2 home 52-55 loss

26.09. 12pm Steelers A home 54-50 win match report

16.10. 2.15pm Jaguars away 56-50 win match report

24.10. 1pm Eagles home 80-30 win match report

07.11. 5pm Jaguars home 68-48 win match report

14.11. 11am Warriors home 83-21 win match report

17.04. 11am Rhinos 2 away

08.01. 2.30pm Warriors away 17-58 win match report

26.02. 1pm Owls away 28-68 win match report

05.03. 1pm Phoenix home 62-36 win match report

06.03. 2pm Owls home 72-25 win match report

07.05. 1pm Eagles away

08.05. 1pm Phoenix away

Fixtures 2010/2011:

19.09. 3pm Rhinos 3 home 47-12 win match report

07.11. 3pm Spitfires home 43-33 win match report

13.11. 3pm Eagles away      57-37 loss

14.11. 2pm Phoenix away

28.11. 2pm Eagles home

17.04. 3pm Rhinos 3 away

11.12. 1pm Vikings away

19.12. 11am Cardinals home

06.02. 2pm Spitfires away

12.02. 2.30pm Jaguars away 35-58  win match report

27.02. 1.30pm Cardinals away

05.03. 3pm Phoenix home

20.03. 1pm Vikings home

01.05. 2pm Jaguars home

SSB Steelers Women v Capital City

In their second season in the British Wheelchair Basketball Womens League, SSB Steelers played their first game against the re-branded Capital City squad, last season’s Division 1 winners. 

Boasting a starting 5 consisting of all GB players, the London side forced their way to an early start dominating the first quarter 17 points to 4.  This scoring pattern was unfortunately set to remain throughout the first half, leaving the Steelers side trailing 37 v 13.

Showing true spirit, the Steelers side fought back into action matching the mighty Capital City basket for basket to finish the game 34  v 57. 

Scorers: Maddie Thompson 14, Jessica Pilkington 11, Manja Wolfram and Yvonne Waft 4, Eve Baross and Jill Fox 2, Jo Harper and Debee Steel played well without scoring.

SSB Steelers Women v Vixens

With renewed determination, SSB Steelers were focused for a win, and took command right from the start in their second game against Vixens.  Manja Wolfram and Maddie Thompson blast into action scoring readily against the experienced Vixens, who failed to break through the Steelers full court press, and by half time Steelers lead the game 35 v 19.

Continuing with the pressure Steelers forged ahead to out fox the Vixens and win the game 63 v 38.

Scorers: Maddie Thompson 24, Jessica Pilkington 15,Manja Wolfram 10, Eve Baross, Yvonne Waft and Debee Steel (scoring her first baskets for Steelers) 4 points each, Jo Harper 2 points, and Jill Fox played excellently without scoring.

Steelers Women v Eastern Blue Stars

SSB Steelers final game of the day was against the newly formed all star squad ‘Eastern Blue Stars’.  The Steelers and the Stars proved to be evenly matched with both squads trading basket for basket throughout the game.

The Star’s GB guards, fresh from only having played 1 game to the Steelers 2, started to apply full court pressure and went into the lead, Despite keeping GB forward Amy Conroy to only 6 points, Steelers could not claw back the Blue Stars lead, resulting in a narrow defeat for the Steelers side 45 v 36.

Steelers Women prove they are a force to be reckoned with, Round 2 of Women's League

Steelers Women v Tornados

In the second round of the British Wheelchair Basketball Womens Division 1, SSB Steelers confidently came out against newcomers Tornados.  The Steelers side started with strength and grit determination in a full court press commanding a 17 v 2 lead at the end of the first quarter.  This was further extended in the second quarter, and Steelers finished the half to lead 32 v 9.

With the pressure taken off, Tornados made a brave attempt to fight back, however the Steelers squad proved to be too strong.  Final score 59 v 24.

Scorers:  Jess Pilkington 14, Maddie Thompson 13, Manja Wolfram  and Debee Steel 12 points a piece, Eve Baross 6, Jo Harper 2.

Steelers Women v London Force

With a convincing win under their belts, SSB Steelers faced their second outing against the mighty London Force, last season’s unbeaten Division 1 winners.  Without ex GB Paralympian Jill Fox, the Steelers side knew the day’s games would be all the more difficult.  Under the captaincy and experience of ex GB Paralympian Jo Harper, Steelers were determined to redress the 20 point beating they suffered from their first game against Force earlier this season, going 9 nil up by the 4th minute, forcing a quick time out from the opposition.

Despite using their trademark pressing defence, Force underestimated the experience and heart of the Steelers squad, as the underdogs stayed 3 points up at the half.

Determined to prove that the mighty Force were not unbeatable, Steelers held onto their lead and countered everything the London side could muster to finish the game 52 v 46 on top. 

Scorers: Maddie Thompson 19, Debee Steel 12, Jess Pilkington 10,  Manja Wolfram and Eve Baross 4 points a piece, Yvonne Waft  and  Jo Harper 2 points a piece. 

Steelers Women v Eastern Blue Stars

Showing renewed confidence after their victory against the mighty London Force, SSB Steelers were rapidly gaining the reputation for being the ‘Giant Killers’ of the first division as they again met the Eastern Blue Stars.

Eager to earn a spot in the finals weekend to be held at the EIS, Sheffield in May, the SSB Steelers side needed a win against the Blue Stars whom they lost to in the first meeting this season. 

Evenly matched, the two teams traded basket for basket throughout the first half, with the Steelers squad edging slightly ahead by 4 points at the half. 

The second half was to prove to be a similar story, with Steelers notching up their third and final win of the day 54 v 46.

Scorers: Maddie Thompson19, Manja Wolfram and Jess Pilkington 10 points a piece,  Debee Steel 5, Yvonne Waft 4, Jo Harper and Eve Baross 2 points a piece.  A special mention  should go to Junior Steeler Georgine Waft for her support and enthusiasm for the squad throughout the day.    

SSB Steelers Women out fox the Vixens and take the wind out of Tornados

In the third round of the British Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Division 1, SSB Steelers confidently came out against the experienced Vixens and newcomers Tornados.  

Steelers were focused on achieving 2 wins to secure second place and a trip to the Finals in May.  Without guards Eve Baross and Jill Fox the Steelers side took command right from the start in their second outing against Vixens.  The whole squad blast into action scoring readily to take the lead by at half time.

With a second half surge, Steelers piled on the defensive pressure to extend their lead and secure a victory to win the game 53 v 35.

Scorers: Maddie Thompson 22, Manja Wolfram 11, Jessica Pilkington 10, Debee Steel 8, Yvonne Waft 2, Captain Jo Harper played excellently without scoring.

Well rested and full of confidence, The Steelers side, minus power forward Jessica Pilkington, started with strength and grit determination in a full court press against the Tornados, commanding a 27 v 15 in the first half.

Controlled offence and disciplined defence further extended the lead in the second half and Steelers achieve their second win and place in the Finals.

Scorers:  Maddie Thompson 25, Debee Steel 11, Manja Wolfram 10, Jo Harper 6, Yvonne Waft played excellently without scoring.

Steelers 26 :  Newcastle Eagles 12

Steelers Juniors started their 2001/11  Junior League campaign with a comfortable win against the Eagles.

The Steelers, with 4 players who play in the National League Division 1, were too strong for an inexperienced Eagles team. After establishing an early lead, coach Maurice Hammerton substituted freely to give some of the younger Steelers players valuable court time.

Joe Williams led the Steelers in scoring with 8 points but all the players contributed in a solid team performance. 

Junior League 19^th February 2011 

The final round of the Junior League took place at the Wildcats Arena in Nottingham on Saturday 19^th February and the unbeaten Steelers were expecting strong competition from the Nottingham Jaguars and Liverpool Vikings.

Nottingham Jaguars were also unbeaten going into the first game. However, a superb display of team basketball from the Steelers never allowed the Jaguars to settle and the Steelers ran out comfortable winners.

Maddie Thompson was unstoppable and scored 17 points with Joe Williams also having a great game in scoring 14. The other points were shared between Mark Schofield with 8, Harry Brown with 4 and Jack Waring with 2.

The final score was Steelers  45 : Jaguars 17.

The second game of the day was the Championship game between Steelers and a very strong Vikings team who were the reigning Champions and also unbeaten going into the match. After a nervy start with both teams finding it hard to score, the Steelers found their form and started to score freely. A fantastic defensive display prevented the Vikings from getting into a rhythm and the Steelers went away to record an impressive 32 : 10 victory to clinch the Divisional title.

Maddie Thompson carried on where she left off in the first game and added another 16 points. Harry Brown scored 6 points with Jack Waring and Joe Williams adding 4 each. Mark Schofield completed the scoring with 2 points.

The last game of the league season saw Steelers take on the Manchester Mavericks. Steelers ensured that they remained claimed the clean sweep in the league with a 40 : 12 win over the Mavericks.

Chris Rainforth had a great game, scoring 18 points. Mark Schofield scored 8 and Jack Waring 4. Damien Delay and Sultan El-Asayi each scored 2 points to ensure that every member of the Steelers squad got on the score sheet during the day.

The 3 wins ensured that Steelers remained unbeaten during the Junior League campaign and they now go forward to play in the Play Off finals at the EIS on 2^nd April.