The crowd roars in support of York's women's basketball team in this nail-biting game that had fans glued to the edge of their seats.
Energy exploded on the court as the game began with strong possession from York. They gracefully and skillfully manoeuvred down the court, not allowing Lancaster any opportunities to score.
With ease and a supportive crowd, York took the first few goals confidently. Lancaster fought valiantly, successfully breaking through York's defence, yet failing at the final hurdle with their balls going everywhere but the net.
Lancaster did pick up the pace, forcing York to maintain the formidable pace they had set at the beginning of the game. They didn't just maintain but they built on it and the crowd waited with bated breath every time York went for a free throw (of which there were a lot).
York kept on dominating with a score of 7 - 0 before Lancaster managed to score. That first goal gave them a much needed boost of confidence and it was like a different team was on the court. They were daring and attempted risky passes and goals.
In blink and you'll miss it moments (or write a live blog and miss you it) the score was constantly increasing with York taking goal after goal seamlessly taking the crowd with them on this epic journey.
Lancaster was not ready to give up and they fought on digging deep for shreds of energy. It worked and the second half ended with 24 - 14 to York.
York came into the second half relaxed, and Lancaster took full advantage of this, dominating the game scoring net after net. If York were surprised they hid it well, instead focusing on building their defence. Every time Lancaster scored they were followed quickly by York, there was consistently one point between them.
There was a run of poorly executed passes from both sides which saw a fair few fouls given out. It was evident that both sides were now desperate for the win having invested so much in the game. The York crowd were strong, drowning out the boos from Lancaster with enthusiasm.
50 seconds is too long in a tense basketball showdown- every time play paused the crowd tensed and lent forward. The score was 44 - 42 and each time both teams were taking every opportunity to score.
In the end, after an incredible performance from both sides, York with their slicker passes and sensational goals took the win- with a final score of 48 - 42.
As the game ended the crowd erupted, jumping out of their seats and finally breathing a sigh of relief. Franki stormed the pitch to immediately congratulate the worthy winners.
The co-captain Annie Haworth commented after the win “it was a scrappy match we really had to fight it out, the defence at the end made all the difference. We're just moving up to the Women's Northern tier one league. All eyes should be on Women's Basketball”.
Franki Riley added that after the close defeat in Lancaster last year this felt like a “full circle moment”, and she was “absolutely chuffed”- which you could tell at the end of the game as she encouraged the cheers of the crowd.
