21st September 2025
Alcester Hearts vs Panthers
43-49

Hearts vs Panthers was always going to be a close game, and as usual, it was very evenly matched. We all played a very strong game, communication was on point, energy and fitness levels up, and we came armed with enough bags of tanfastics to keep us going until Christmas 🎄

There were some really great passages of play; we utilised some tactics we have been working on as a team, such as zoning and tactical changes to give us the upper edge.

Molly, Jodie and Lauren were on fire in the attaching D against a very tall and tricky defensive duo, they held their ground and gave as good as they got. Molly got player of the match this week, no doubt for her amazing long shots, her positioning, and always meeting those high balls so the defenders couldn’t get their fingers on the ball. Jodie’s and Lauren’s circle rotation and splits were lovely to watch from my end of court, and Lauren’s tippy rebounds secured even more goals!

Shan at WA and Sarah at C had a great partnership, and had some wonderful feeds into the D. They were always there to reset if needed and helped the shooters work the ball round. The energy levels and fitness were fab, and we managed to force several errors by getting back onside for Centres quicker than the opposition! 💨

Hearts’ match this week saw Sarah get Hearts’ Players Player Trophy 🏆 It was Sarah first game back after having a year off. She played C for the whole gave, fitness never failing, and slotted right back in as if she’d never had a year off to have a baby! What a legend! 💪🏼

Nat was back in her natural habitat as WD, showcasing why WD is her top choice position! She slowed the game down for us so we didn’t run away with ourselves, was always encouraging us to use all channels, and on the back line pass she was always exactly where we needed her!

Pippa gave her GA a battle, had some great interceptions, and flew when intercepting the shot. She met every challenge- much to the GA’s dismay!
I was GK, doing my best to force the GS away from the post and also get ball-side for interceptions. Pip and I felt like we worked well together – didn’t get in each other’s way, but also did some good switching!

Over and out (I got passionate reliving the match, so sorry it’s a long one 😂)

By Katia – Player

Clubs faced a feisty young Jaguar team this morning- always a challenge! What a first game from a new squad. Let’s start with the shooting combination of Liv and Jeanette, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with- great movement and understanding between them. Welcome back to Chloe as WA some great feeds and defensive play. Katie playing up from Queens had an amazing game – always in the right place. Mary started as WD then moved to GD showing her brilliant agility. Georgina solid as usual with some great interceptions and availability for a reset. So pleased to see Suzanne back on court after injury playing GK and WD such a pleasure to watch. Last but not least the player of the match Libby as GD and GK-Wow! Totally shut the shooter out of the game in the second half- what a performance for your first match for ATNC. A very happy coach 😁x

Written by Elaine – Coach

Aces had a fantastic match against Blossomfield Bees; really proving why they deserve to have moved up to Division 1.
From the outset the match was highly competitive and physical, and it only took 5 minutes for one of our key players, Lucy Jones, to come off with a bad injury – Lucy, we all hope it’s nothing too major and you’re back on the court in no time!
As a team we used this time to reset mentally, recognising that we needed to play our game and keep our cool. With Lucy coming off Eliza Marshall slotted in at WA and you really wouldn’t have known that she hadn’t warmed up!!
From then on the match continued to be full on but we managed to keep our heads and before we knew it we had gained a comfortable lead. By the end we were dominating the match, playing our game and consequently managed to finish with a final score of 52:12. A shout out to Edie Buckham and Eliza for slotting into the team so well – the movement up and down the court was fantastic and it will be exciting to see where this season takes us!
Player of the match went to Rose but it’s fair to say that everyone through the court had a fantastic match!! Another shout out for Eliza for also getting captains player.
Let’s keep this momentum up ladies and I’m sure we will have a great season!!

Written by Rose – Player

Alcester Hearts ♥️ vs Alcester Aces ♠️
Final score: 48-36

What can I say? What a game! It was such an enjoyable match, with great spirit and sportsmanship from both sides, and positive vibes throughout! 💃

It was an extremely close and evenly-matched game; Aces certainly gave us a run for our money!

We had Jodie and Molly shooting, joined shortly after by Lauren. There was lovely teamwork and circle rotation to get past the tough defence that Leah and Katie put up. They held their space to receive some great feeds in (we had some of the famous ‘Nat specials’ today), or came forward to receive some short and sharp well-placed balls from Nat and Shan. The space was great, and the accuracy from all three shooters was super impressive 🎯

There was some lovely game control from Shannon and Nat in centre court. They encouraged us to use all channels, make space, and kept us steady whenever we started to run away with ourselves. They always made themselves available ball-side on the D to support the shooters, and the feeds were on fireeee 🔥

Pippa and Kate were always there as a back up if needed, and were used many times to help the attack reset to work the ball back in instead of forcing it.

Kate had a fabulous game as WD, earning player of the match from Aces for her endless interceptions and tenacity, forcing errors, putting the pressure on, and chasing down any ball in her path! 💪🏼

Pippa was great at working the ball up the court, getting it out of the defensive third and seeing it right through to the attacking third. She had some great tips, and practically flew like a bird when jumping to mark the shot. 🦅

Molly had a change scenery and came to the dark side for a quarter. We played GK, doing our best against Gemma, who earned Hearts player of the match for her insane accuracy and amazing quick movements in the D. We aimed to stay on our toes and keep her as far away from the post as possible. Pippa, Molly and I stuck close to our players, and switched when necessary to get some tips and interceptions.

Overall, very proud of how we played, it was a great team effort all round. We communicated positively and constructively throughout the court, and kept our heads when Aces were neck and neck with us for most of the game.

Well done to Molly for her first game as captain, you aced it (excuse the pun!) ♠️

Thanks to Aces for a great game, well played all, and thanks to those who came along to watch ❤️

Written by Katia – Player

Queens 55 – 27 Hotshots 🎉

What a way to end the season!
Last match against Hotshots was possibly one of our strongest performances yet!

A close first quarter, spent trying to figure out Hotshot’s tactics, led to us making a few position changes for the rest of the game. However, from that point on, we found our groove, and there was no stopping us! 🏃‍♀️

I cannot write this match report without mentioning the seamless and tireless work moving the ball down court from Centre to WA, GA and GS (Amy-Sue Widman, Frankie Woods, Sophie Smithers, Katie Jones! 💖). With immaculate timing against a strong defence, you kept your cool and never let Hotshots interrupt your game plan.

Defence consisted of Poppy, Beth Young, Antonia Seymour, and me, and I think it’s fair to say that we didn’t let Hotshots have it easy!

Whilst we did have the odd excitable stray pass and iffy set moves, overall it was a cracking game that highlighted all the skills we’ve been working on over the season. It was a fabulous way to end the season, and I think we can all agree that it’s been incredible to truly gel as a team and find our flow! 💛👑

Bring on the Winter season!!

Written by Lucinda – Player

Player of the match: Lucinda Granger

Alcester Queens brought their A Game and took a fab 56–47 win over the Swans! 🎉
Amy and Frankie were the unstoppable duo in the shooting circle 🔥 barely missing a thing and keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Sophie at WA and Katie at C were flying through the mid-court 💨 linking up beautifully and setting up attack after attack. Keeping the ball and all of us calm! Some incredible feeds into the circle (sorry for overheads Elaine but they were beautiful)🤣
Gemma and Poppy brought non-stop energy at WD 💪 chasing everything down and making life tricky for their opponents.
At the back, Stacey and Beth were calm, collected, and totally solid 🧱 nothing was getting past them easily. They put up a hell of a fight!

Everyone worked so well together and even though it was neck and neck after Q1, and only up by 1 for us on Q2, we stormed through on Q3 with a 4 goal lead and then 9 to finish!💜 Such a fun game and a well-deserved win for the Queens! 👑 Everyone could have got player of the match in my eyes but very grateful my shooting was on form 🥳

Written by Amy – Player

Well done Team, what an incredible performance to end the season on!
We were a little slow to get started in the first quarter but once Jeanette had scored her first goal there was no stopping her, or Amelia!
From there on, our passing through court was incredible; Shannon, Amelia and Jeanette were on fire and the passing between them was so slick.
Defence did a great job albeit the opposition didn’t have their usual shooter which made it an even match.
2nd and 3rd quarters we were racing ahead with some lovely play – @⁨Alison Alcester⁩ we retained possession and @⁨Elaine Squirrel⁩ there were no overheads!
Fourth quarter went slightly squiffy when Leanne nominated herself for WA and Jeanette for reasons known only to herself kept popping out of the D leaving Amelia exposed, but with a quick tactical change, we soon put things right again 😂 to finish on a win and a high!
Well done to Leanne on another well deserved Player 👏
And a special thanks to everyone who has helped us out this season, we couldn’t have done it without you xx
Written by Lorraine – Captain of Team Clubs

🏆14 wins out of 14 games makes for an unbeaten season for Aces!🏆

Aces win against hotshots 38-26
Neck and neck up until the 3rd quarter, hotshots then took the lead and gave Aces a closely contested game. Some tactical changes and fresh legs on in the final quarter meant we pulled away and ended up winning by 12 goals 🤩🤩🤩

Chuffed for my first players player of the season, and well done Rose for captain’s player for consistently applying the pressure and supporting through court ✨

Shoutout to the supporters (especially our Izzy) and WAGs that came along to cheer today – you made the difference in keeping the vibes upbeat and positive!

& a big well done to the Aces girls for having showed amazing commitment at both training and for matches throughout the season!

Bring on Division 1 ✨🤍✨🤍✨🤍✨

Written by Gemma – Captain

This resulted in a 25-0 win and 5 points on the board for Hearts. Stratford lose by default and have 5 points deducted!

Aces v Redditch Pearls
Wednesday 16th July 2025
Aces win 41-35

A 13th win of the season for team Aces against Redditch Pearls. With a slightly different team to the last time we played them, they gave us a run for our money and really challenged us at points during the game.

The first half Aces gained and maintained a strong 10 point minimum lead and established ourselves into the match.
Defense from Leah, Mary, and Grace C was INSANE – the pressure on the strong Redditch shooters was relentless and the girls scored many turnovers.
Transitioning into attack was made easy by fantastic work by Katie B filling in as centre for pretty much the entire match.
Katie J playing up from Queens as our WA was absolutely incredible throughout. Timing of movement, quality of feeds into the D, and contesting against her WD made fit in seamlessly.
Shooting from myself and Chloe (mainly Chloe) was strong. Although we rushed some shots at the start, we settled and found our rhythm & were able to convert plenty of turnovers.
As we moved into the second half, tiredness across the team started to show and Redditch caught up, at one point getting within three. In the final quarter a short burst of fresh legs from Poppy B as C enabled the team to regroup, settle and push to take the win.

A massive shoutout and thank you to Mary, Poppy B and Katie J for helping us out by playing up.
So much so that Mary was awarded players player, and Katie J captain’s player✨☀️

One game left of the season for Aces – another win would see us have a complete unbeaten season 🤩🤩🤩