Falkirk Fury: Cadette women put up a fight but narrowly lose out in Scottish Cup final

The Sony Centre side came into the match on the back of a 78-42 loss in December and a 63-45 loss in January to their final opponents, West Lothian Wolves, but they made a real game of it.

The seven point loss saw Fury only one point behind at the halfway point in the final with a low half-time 23-22 scoreline.

Back to back two points plays by Fury's Rose Tyrell and Poppy Duncan at the start of the third period saw Fury lead by three at 26-23. But it was the Wolves who got the better of the stanza, leading 40-32 going into the last quarter.

Wolves increased their lead to ten at the start of the final period, but a three from Duncan and great inside play by Kyla Torrance saw the gap reduced to seven with eight minutes to play.

Daisy Lawson then brought the Fury fans to their feet by converting a driving lay that she was fouled on. Lawson sank the free throw for a big three point play and it was now a two point game at 42-40.

Kyla Torrance then made a two point play to tie the game, with Bethany Sneddon putting Fury two points clear with a well executed driving layup to complete a stunning 12-0 run as the match reached five minutes remaining.

Wolves then went on a 10-0 run themselves to take the scoreline to 52-44.

A three from Beth Sneddon reduced the gap to five points as Fury battled to regain the lead and with 14 seconds remaining it was Sneddon again who was in the thick of the action, reducing the gap to just three points after scoring one of two from the charity stripe.

Fury then had to foul inside the final ten seconds to stop the clock, with the Wolves holding on to secure the win in what an excellent cup final tie that could have been won by either side.

With huge points differences being seen in all of the other five youth cup finals, this was certainly a match that had the fans on the edge of their seats right until the end.

Fury’s top scorers were Kyla Torrance and Poppy Duncan who shared 28 points with 14 apiece. Torrance added 27 rebounds with Duncan hitting an equally impressive 17 boards. Captain Rose Tyrell had seven points personal with six rebounds and five steals. Rachael Dagger had 12 rebounds, four steals and two points personal. Guard Beth Sneddon had six points, with Daisey Lawson on five.

Fury’s coach Kim Hunter said: “We came into the game knowing we had developed as a team and that we had a chance to cause an upset in the final. We played very well against Blaze in the semi-final and we took a lot from that game in terms of confidence.

"The girls played their hearts out and the run we had in the fourth quarter really showed this is a special group of players. We have a very young team, with nearly all playing cadette again next season, so the future is looks bright.”

Meanwhile, Caledonia Gladiators defeated top BBL side London Lions in a 52-50 triumph in Glasgow to advance to the semi-final stage of the British Basketball Trophy.

Former Fury star and Scotland international, Jonny Bunyan, sank two free-throws with 9.6 seconds of the game remaining, putting them 52-49 ahead. Bunyan then made a calculated play to foul Morayo Soluade and sent him to the free throw line with five seconds remaining. Gladiators captain Bunyan played a huge part in the win by closing out Bradley Kaboza on the final shot of the game.

Coach Gareth Murray's side also saw former Fury player Fraser Malcolm in action, alongside Scots star Kyle Jiminez.