GB Junior Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team defend U24 European title

GB Junior Women’s Wheelchair Basketball captain Joy Haizelden credited a mixture of youth and experience as her side continued their dominance to retain the U24 European title in France.

Already reigning U24 European and U25 world champions, the GB Junior Women squad’s incredible run of form continued in Bordeaux as they defeated Germany in a dramatic final game 48-27 to defend their title.

Undefeated throughout the tournament, the GB Junior Women dominated the courts of Villenave-d’Ornon and saw Maddie Thompson, Haizelden and Charlotte Moore all named in the competition’s All Star 5.

Skipper Haizelden shone in the final against Germany, delivering the triple double in the second GB v Germany clash with 11 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds.

“This tournament saw everyone working together as a team,” commented Haizelden, who made her Paralympic debut for the GB Women’s Team at the 2016 Rio Games.

“Some of the newer girls are being integrated with some of the older ones with more experience, which has helped us so much.

“They are learning from us and we are learning from them as well.”

Testament to the strength of the talent pathway in the UK, the European Championships saw a staggering seven GB Junior Women make their international debut.

Delighted by his team’s win, GB U24 head coach Dan Price echoed Joy’s (Haizelden) sentiment and added: “We are two-time defending U24 European Champions – I could not be more proud of the group that we have played in France.

“As Joy mentioned it’s a mixed group with some senior members and some junior members, and the integration of those two working together is key.

“We’ve only been together for a very short amount of time, we still have a lot to learn about one another - we are still very raw but this is just the tip of the iceberg and we are very excited for the journey going forward.

“We still have a lot of work to do going into World Championships but we are looking forward to getting back to work.”