The Winchester Royals ladies have added to their Wessex Plate with the Wessex Ladies division 1 title, which they have won for the second season in a row. 

The Royals did it the hard way. Having won their first nine games of the season, the team looked to be cruising towards the title, however they had a major blip, losing three consecutive games. 

Going into the match away to title rivals Abingdon Jet, who had only lost two games themselves, the Royals knew they could not slip up again. Earleesha Jackson with 19 points, Rebecca Jackson 14 and Abby Sweiten 9, led the Royals ladies to a 52-64 win putting the league title back in Winchesters hands. 

The final game of the season saw the Royals travel to Southampton to take on a quick and fast improving Southampton University Sharks team. The Sharks needed the win to make the end of season top four play offs. Winchester had to win to win the league. Any slip up would have given the title to the winner of the Woking Blackhawks vs Abingdon Jet game. 

It was the Sharks who got out of the blocks quickly. They built a 15-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, mainly through their aggressive full court defence. The lead increased to 22-12 in the 2nd quarter before the Royals experience started to show. The Royals moved the ball well on offence and stifled the Sharks attacks to move into a 28-30 half time lead. 

The Royals all round inside and outside game started to take over in the 2nd half. Lucy Tucker Blackford, Louise Cooke and Abby Sweiton hit big three pointers at important times. Talliah Rae outran the Sharks team to make some big break away baskets. Throughout the game Rebecca and Earleesha Jackson controlled the game under the basket. Winchester pushed the lead out to as many as 21 points in the 4th quarter and managed to take a 61-76 win to seal the league title. 

The Royals ladies 2nd team have also had a great season. They are currently sitting at 10 wins and two losses in division 2 and are looking set to be the 2nd seed in the division 2 play offs. They picked up a 50-31 win over, play off hopefuls, Woodley Wildcats at Sparsholt College on Monday. The Royals were lead by Lara Chalmers with 13 points, while Effie Church and Debi Greenwood each had 8. 

The Royals juniors have had mixed seasons. The Under 18 men picked up an exciting 65-61 win at the weekend over the Worthing Thunder. Its been a difficult season for them but they have improved from game to game. 

The Under 16 boys have played close games all season. Last week they took a big scalp away to Farnborough Phantoms. The Royals managed to control the Phantoms England Under 16 big man on route to an 86-88 win. A win in their final game of the season over bottom side Oxford will see the Royals finishing in 6th place. 

The Under 14s have had the best season out of the junior sides. With only one player experienced at this sort of level at the start of the season it was a tough start as the Royals lost five of their first six games. However the boys really turned their season around and, with one game to play, are currently on 10 wins and nine losses. 

The Wessex league men have had a transitional season in division 3 of Wessex. They could still make the top four play offs if they win their last two games. The Royals men are currently sitting on eight wins and eight losses. 

The National league men have had a disappointing season having lost several key players from last year. The team finished bottom of division 3 South and will be relegated to division 4 next season. If the club have the finances to carry on in the National League.