It was a weekend to remember at the University of Huddersfield as both the West Yorkshire Hawks Men’s and Women’s teams took to the court in front of a vibrant home crowd.
Saturday night saw the Hawks Men return to the Hawks Nest in style, grinding out an 84-78 win over a dangerous Derby Trailblazers side in front of a record-breaking home crowd.
The Neon and Navy flew out of the blocks, blitzing Derby with a dominant first quarter to take a 15-point lead.
But the Trailblazers weren’t going down without a fight. They rallied in the second period, slicing through the Hawks’ defence to narrow the gap to just eight points by half-time.
In a bruising third quarter, the Hawks showed resilience, extending their lead to 11 before Derby mounted a late surge.
With the pressure on, the Hawks’ veteran core stood tall, showing composure and grit to see out the win and move into second place in NBL Division Two.
Top scorers on the night were Dave Walsh (19), Heyes (14), Olusunmade (12), and Jermayne Laing (10).
Head coach Danny Byrne said “Derby are a good team that pushed us hard. I feel we took another step forward as a team, but there’s still more to come.
“A massive thank you to the amazing crowd – you really made the difference tonight.”
Just 24 hours later, the Hawks Women faced a different challenge – a National Cup tie against a battle-tested Tees Valley Mohawks team stacked with top-tier experience.
Despite a valiant effort, the Hawks fell 69-87 in a game that was far closer than the scoreline suggests.
After a tough first quarter, the Hawks roared back in the second with 30 explosive points, their best offensive stretch of the season, taking a narrow lead into half-time.
But the Mohawks’ defensive discipline came to the fore in the second half, as the visitors slowly regained control and pulled away late.
Sonia Maria Matei led Hawks’ scoring with 20 points, while Charlotte Williams added 16 in a determined display.
Player-coach Millie Oates said: “It was always going to be a tough challenge but we played some of our best basketball and the team rose to the occasion. We can take a lot of positives from this game.”
With back-to-back wins under their belt, the Hawks Men now travel to Stockport at the weekend in a key Division Two clash.
Meanwhile, the Hawks Women hit the road to face Charnwood Riders eager to bounce back in league action.
