Blues 50 - 25 Nottingham Trent 

The opening stages started off quite close with Cambridge leading only by 3 for most of the first quarter, the team taking a while to get settled. However, the returning Blues defensive duo of Laura Spence and Charlotte Plumtree meant that Nottingham Trent struggled to capitalise on their shooting opportunities. In the second quarter new Fresher Hayley Smith made a dazzling debut performance for the Blues alongside returning Blues - centre-court players Emma Langley-Jones and Emily Coulter - meaning the lead was lengthened. At half time, Coulter's still suffering from illness meant that Nicky Taylor came on as centre, performing beautifully and helping the Blues into a lead. Jodie Green moved from defence to attack, further helping them to increase the lead. The returning shooter Izzy Bell quickly adapted to working alongside her new shooting partner, Fresher Tara Phillips, and they both dominated the attack, making the score a fantastic 50-25 at the end of the match. Izzy Bell’s immaculate shooting performance earned her the Man of the Match accolade. The Blues are excited for the next match which is away against Nottingham University. 

Oxford Brookes 45-30 Jays 

Only one training session into the new season, it is unsurprising that the start of the Jays first match was shaky. Falling behind by nine goals did little to improve the team's confidence. However, once play began to settle down, the Jays began to pull it back as Charlotte Salisbury and Zoe Sciver made some fantastic interceptions in the defending third to regain possession with the score at half-time 18-10 to Brookes. In the second half, the mid-court pairing of Hannah Vaughn and Charlie Peacock provided strong feeds into the circle, as the Jays turned over three of Oxford Brookes' centre passes at the start of the third quarter to bring them back into a five goal deficit. Emily Elliott and Maddy Eno worked well together in the circle against a very strong defence. In spite of this, Oxford Brookes started to pull away and their sharp shooting meant that any interceptions made were converted into goals. All in all this was a promising start to the season as even throughout the game the team went from strength to strength and clear improvements could be seen in the second half: wins are definitely on the horizon for this newly-formed team! A big congratulations to Maddy Eno who was nominated Man of the Match for this first game of the season – keep it up!