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8 months ago

April 6, 2025

The Eagles loyal fan base and everyone connected with the Club witnessed one of the greatest second half performances from a Newcastle team in their storied franchise on Saturday night. In the Vertu Motors Arena Newcastle’s women produced a devasting effort to blow Cardiff away.

In truth the demolition of a game and competent Met Archers side started before the last dramatic twenty minutes but it will be those minutes in particular that will live longest in the memories of everyone that watched, played and coached in the game from an Eagles point of view.

Our Eagles qualified for the SLB Championship Playoffs with their victory over Cardiff Met Archers (Photo and featured image: Gary Forster)

Cardiff came into the game having won three of their last four games in the SLB and running league leaders Oaklands Wolves to within eight points before losing a close encounter against a team the Eagles had lost too by 16 points the week before.

A much-improved Cardiff side from the one Newcastle beat by 35 points earlier in the season down in Wales. For just under a quarter and a half the visitors showed that improvement and gave Newcastle quite a game.

Taking the first quarter by 21 to 19 Cardiff were still up by three at 28 to 25 with 6:25 to go in the second and looking every inch a team that were ready to take the game all the way but Newcastle had other ideas.

The Eagles simply clicked into another gear got going and showed the power, commitment, togetherness and all-round scoring ability that they’ve shown all season. Add in superb lockdown defence and the game completely changed around.

Thirteen unanswered points took the Eagles into a lead that was decisive as they were never headed again and indeed took that momentum into a superb final twenty minutes. They won quarter 3 by 31 – 10 and the final stanza by 31 – 12 to complete a magnificent 47-point win.

Shooting over 70% in that second half was one thing to net 62 points but defensively Newcastle were dominate as well. Forcing 17 turnovers and taking 15 steals to restrict Cardiff to a mere 22 points in the final two periods. Eye-catching statistics indeed.

Everywhere you looked Newcastle had someone somewhere that contributed in a great team performance that saw five players in double figures and two fall just short. Eagles were led by point guard Lyric Swann who stepped off the bench to have a breakthrough game as a rookie professional.

Lyric Swann had some night dropping 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists (Photo: Gary Forster)

Swann who by her own admission has been frustrated with her lack of game time showed that once she gets in the groove and her confidence is high can produce the goods. It’ll give Head Coach Chloe Gaynor a nice additional option in her already well-drilled and oiled outfit going forward.

Swann hit 4 of 5 triples on her way to an Eagles game high of 20 points. Jada Guinn was efficient as always with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Abby Lowe came off the bench with great effect to add 16 points in support as she drove with controlled aggression at the basket time and time again.

Jada Guinn kept up her scintillating form dropping 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals (Photo: Gary Forster)

Kendall Currence looks to have put her fitness woes behind her with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Captain Tierra Hodges also netted 14 points to be the fifth Eagles in double-figures adding in her 5 rebound and 4 steal effort as well.

Shoutouts too to Shannon Hatch with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 seals and Lauren Saiki with 8 points and 9 assists against their former employers to support the others and showcase that all-round Eagles strength.

Lauren Saiki tallied up a ton of assists (Photo: Gary Forster)

Cardiff were shell-shocked by the time the final buzzer went to end their agony and second half torture and signal a superb win for The Eagles. A win that not only took them to an impressive 12 wins and 4 losses record but also one that confirmed Newcastle’s participation in the end of season play-offs.

With four games still to go Chloe Gaynor’s team could yet even clinch a top four seeding and home court advantage in those play-off. A second-place finish which in this form is achievable could see Newcastle cement their best ever season in the top-flight of Women’s professional basketball.

That would be a remarkable achievement but not beyond the realms of possibility as Newcastle are looking more and more like a side that everyone wants to avoid as it comes down to the business end of the season.

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Nebraska volleyball sweeps Kansas, advances to Elite Eight

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December 13, 2025

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Maine wraps up Fall Semester with a win in Black Bear Invitational

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1 hour ago

December 13, 2025

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ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine track and field program hosted their Black Bear Invitational meet on Friday December 12. The Black Bears hosted the University of Maine at Fort Kent Bengals and the Husson University Eagles at the New Balance Indoor Track. The Black Bears took home 1st place with a score of 97 points.

Cheyenne Figueroa continued her strong start to the season with another 1st place finish in the weight throw event with a final distance of 16.93m (55′ 7″). Ava Zollars took home second place overall finish with a distance of 13.96m (45′ 10″). Sabine SItes rounded out the top three with a final distance of 13.06m (42′ 10″).

Julia Bassi took home 1st place in the shot put with a distance of 11.86m (38′ 11″). Cheyenne Figueroa finished 2nd overall with a final distance of 11.83m (38′ 9.75″). Riley Gavigan finished with a top 5 performance, finishing 5th with a distance of 9.19m (30′ 1.75″).

Athena Cusson got the Black Bears to the top of the leader board again with a 5.58m (18′ 3.75″) jump in the Long Jump event. Saphryn Humason took home a second place overall finish with a distance of 5.41m (17′ 9″). Martha Baharova rounded out Maine’s top 3 finishers, finishing 4th overall with a distance of 5.02m (16′ 5.75″).

Lydia White was the only Black Bear to compete in the Pole Vault event. White took home a first place overall finish with a height of 3.00m (9′ 10″).

Saphryn Humason took home 1st place in the Triple Jump with a distance of 10.87m (35′ 8″), competing as the lone Black Bear in the event.

The Black Bears swept the competition in the Mile run as Megan Randall came out of the gates flying, finishing in 1st place with a time of 5:02.71. Ryan O’Connor took home a 2nd place overall finish with a time of 5:06.48. Lauren Hamilton rounded out the top three with a time of 5:08.41.

In the 600m, Addison Nelson took home a 1st place finish with a final time of 1:40.83. Searcy Mooney took home 2nd place with a final time of 1:42.51. Toni Vaillancourt wrapped up the top 3 with a time of 1:43.15.

Athena Cusson took home a 1st place finish in the 60m Hurdles as the only Black Bear to compete. Cusson finished with a final time of 10.47.

The Black Bears would once again take all three spots of the top 3 in the 60m Dash. Bayleigh Shanahan would take first place with a sub-8 second finish, finishing at 7.97. Catherine Primavera would finish with a time of 8.12, finishing in 2nd place. Maddie Chaput would round out the top three with a final time of 8.20.

Ruby Krasnow would run away with the 3000m Run with a final time of 9:58.32, finishing in 1st place. Freshman Kara Tschida and Natalie Johnson would round out the top three for the Black Bears. Tschida finished with a time of 10:29.42, while Johnson finished with a time of 10:47.70.

Maddie Cyr would finish with a time of 42.72 to capture a first place finish in the 300m Dash. Cassidy Novicka would take home a second place finish, finishing with a time of 43.16. Catherine Primavera, with a time of 43.25 would finish in 3rd place rounding out the top 3.

Meredith Walters would finish in 1st place with a time of 3:02.34 in the 1000m Run. Abby Rodriquenz would finish in 2nd place with a final time of 3:02.78. Emma Tessier would round out the top 3 with a final time of 3:09.71.

In the 4000m Distance Medley Relay, the group of Ryan O’Connor, Addison Nelson, Megan Randall and Ruby Krasnow would dominate the field finishing in 1st place with a time of 12:33.45. Natalie Johnson, Bri Harriman, Searcy Mooney and Kennedy Taylor would finish in 2nd place with a time of 12:49.99. Kara Tschida, Cassidy Novicka, Amy Rein and Lauren Hamilton would round out the top three with a final time of 12:55.76.

The 4×200 Meter Relay would end the evening as the group of Maddie Chaput, Lydia White, Catherine Primavera, and Saphryn Humason would take home a first place finish with a time of 1:50.13.

The Black Bears wrapped up their fall semester and will take on the Bates College Invitational to open up the spring semester on January 17th.

-UMaine-

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Historic Season Comes to Close

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2 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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AUSTIN, Texas. – The greatest season in program history came to an end on Friday (Dec. 12) afternoon at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin. Top-seeded Texas earned a tight sweep of the fourth-seeded Indiana volleyball team (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) to advance to the regional finals on Sunday. IU’s season comes to a close with a single-season program record 25 wins (in the NCAA era).

In one of the premier volleyball arenas in the country, the Hoosiers went blow-for-blow with the four-time national champions. IU lost by just a combined 11 points and reached the red zone (20+) in all three sets. Head coach Steve Aird‘s group recorded more kills (48-45) but couldn’t find a defensive answer for Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford.

Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles recorded 13 kills in her final game with the Hoosiers. It was the 74th time in her college tenure that she recorded a match with at least 10 kills. IU found great success in the middle with seven kills (.778) from senior middle blocker Madi Sell and eight kills (.700) from freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray.

Contributions from freshmen were felt from every part of the court. Freshman setter Teodora Krickovic dished out 38 assists while freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager contributed eight kills. Freshman outside hitter Charlotte Vinson had an ace and picked up her first career kill for the Hoosiers. Six of IU’s 10 players on the court were true freshmen on Friday.

In totality, IU’s 2025 team will go down as the greatest in program history. The Hoosiers broke single-season program records in the NCAA era for wins (25), regular season wins (23), Big Ten wins (14), road wins (9), ranked road wins (3). IU advanced to its second NCAA regional semifinal in school history.

How it Happened
• The defensive effort made the difference for Texas on Friday afternoon. The Longhorns racked up 10 more blocks than the Hoosiers (12.0-2.0). IU dug 38 balls but struggled to find points in transition. Texas had an answer for every IU swing in the match.

• Texas’ All-American outside hitter Torrey Stafford was virtually unstoppable on Friday. She picked up 19 kills on zero errors for a .679 hitting percentage. She dug eight balls and had a hand in four blocks as well. IU had more kills (48-46) but had 23 attacking errors.

Top Hoosier Performers
#3 Alonso-Corcelles, Candela
13 kills, 10 digs

#10 Krickovic, Teodora
38 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills

#23 Gray, Victoria
8 kills, .700 hitting percentage

Notes to Know
• Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles played her final career game for the Hoosiers. She provided 13 kills in the match, the 74th time that she’s had double-digit kills in a contest. She ends her career eighth in program history in kills (1,386). She’s the first IU player since Jordan Haverly (2009, 2010) with consecutive seasons of 400+ kills.

• The Hoosiers ended the 2025 season hitting .281 as a team. That is a new single-season program record, obliterating the previous IU standard (.246) from 1989. All three of IU’s pin hitters and all three middle blockers that played regular time finished with a hitting efficiency of .240 or better on the year.

• For players with at least 300 attempts in a season, freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray finished the season hitting .378 with 152 kills. That mark puts her second in a single season in program history while smashing the previous single-season freshman hitting percentage record.

• Senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum finished her IU career with a collective hitting percentage of .273 with 936 kills on more than 2,000 swings. Among all pin hitters in program history, no IU player hit at a better efficiency (min. 1,000 attempts) than Tatum did in her three seasons in Bloomington.

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