The women’s squad play top-of-the-league Loughborough Lightning on Saturday
CARDIFF Met Archers wheelchair basketball team will have their match against league-toppers Loughborough Lightning live streamed by the BBC tomorrow.
iPlayer and BBC Sport will show the Women’s Premier League match, which will be a first for Cardiff Met Archers.
This will be their second home game at the Archers’ Arena in Cyncoed.
In their first, the Archers beat Worcester Wolves with a 26-point lead. Captain Jade Atkin led the way, scoring 29 of their 55 points, securing their first and only win of the league so far.
Lisa Pearce, British Wheelchair Basketball’s Chief Executive, said: “Wheelchair Basketball is an incredible sport, and it is really important to us that as many people as possible can experience the thrill of the game – many for the first time ever as a domestic competition.
“The BBC broadcast commitment will help to profile elite women’s sport and create more opportunities for people to play across all levels.”
After a 56-30 defeat away at Loughborough last weekend, the Archers are hoping the home crowd will boost morale.
Tom Guntrip, co-head coach of the Archers, said: “The game on Saturday feels a bit like a playoff series in that we can immediately rectify what went wrong last weekend.
“We knew Loughborough Lightning away would be a tough game and we just weren’t able to execute our plans. Now, we are trying to mould our players to be a bit more reactive.”
Expected in the starting line-up on Saturday are captain Jade Atkin, a team GB Paralympian, Leah Evans, 24, an ex-Paralympian, and Ella Beaumont.
Maddie Martin and Anastasia Blease, who are also likely to be in the starting five, are on the Team GB pathway, which supports young talent to achieve senior GB representation.
Mr Guntrip said: “We have a diverse team from different backgrounds. Anastasia is from North Wales and we have students, experienced players and young, Welsh talent.”
Now, at the halfway point in the league, the Archers are in third place.
“We are now in the rhythm of the competition and have got most of the firsts out of the way,” said Mr Guntrip.
“The learning curve has been immense for some of these players as all the players are from different backgrounds.
“Now we can try to push to second place to get a spot in the final.”
The game tips off at 1pm on Saturday, February 26.
