Sevenoaks 71 Ipswich Women 57

Ipswich were made to pay for a lack lustre second half performance in Sevenoaks as they fell to their second league defeat of the season.

In an eventful game, that included a 45-minute delay, and a change of court, Ipswich were made to pay for their sloppy play in key moments.

Sevenoaks, who came into the game fresh off an important win against Barking Abbey, started the game the better of the two teams, opening up a 12-2 lead in the first quarter as Ipswich picked seemed to be a step off the pace.

However, the Suffolk side showed their quality, and dug deep to draw things level with a Harriet Welham buzzer beater to tie things up at 18 going into the second period.

The second quarter looked like Ipswich had seized control of the game, opening up a five-point lead and moving towards the interval with the advantage. However, five quick points and time ran down saw the hosts take some momentum back into the locker room at the break, although Ipswich still held a slender 36-35 lead.

In the third Ipswich simply couldn’t find a way to score, a problem they experienced in the second half the previous week against Bristol.

Sevenoaks were not exactly flying, only connecting on 16 in the period, but the home side’s defence, coupled with Ipswich’s lack of authority when they had the ball led to the hosts opening up a four point lead going into the game’s final act.

The fourth quarter started badly for Ipswich, and things only got worse when leading scorer Harriet Welham was called for her fifth foul.

Sevenoaks played their best basketball when it mattered and their execution on offence, coupled with Ipswich’s lack of offence led to the score ballooning to double figures as time wound down – with Sevenoaks running out winners.

“We were poor today. There is no point in sugar coating it,” said Ipswich head coach Nick Drane.

“If we are going to take all the good things people have to say about us then we need to stand up and be counted when we don’t perform. We had a very simple game plan today and we just didn’t execute it.”