Last updated at 16:14, Thursday, 28 February 2013

IN-FORM Barrow Thorns produced a dominant display to crush Stockport Lapwings and maintain their England Basketball League play-off push.

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Stockport did not know what had hit them as Thorns captain Emily Cox. along with the in-form Ruth McEwan, tore through their defences.

With Milly Knowles finishing off any rare misses with some strong rebounding form, the home team took a very impressive 38-12 first-quarter lead.

The second quarter saw Barrow make a few changes, with up and coming Caitlin Bilton showing her improvement to add more points to the tally.

Knowles continued to dominate under the basket, and the combined attacking threat of the whole team gave Thorns a 56-22 half-time lead.

In the second half, Barrow introduced a few more of their younger players, as Rebecca Keen, Phoebe Dodd and Anna Brocklebank showed that all their hard work in training is paying off as they all added points to the score.

The home side ended the third quarter with a 76-36 advantage and, with the game nearly finished, targeted a score of 100 points come the final hooter, only to fall three short in what was still a very impressive victory.

Thorns face their rivals for the North division title, Manchester Mystics, at Hoops on Sunday, with victory needed if the Barrow side are to claim the crown, come the end of the regular season.

Points: E Cox 32, M Knowles 20, R McEwan 18, E Duerden 8, C Bilton 5, R Keen 4, P Dodd 4, G Cooper 2, A Brocklebank 2, M Stronach 2.

Player-of-the-Match: Ruth McEwan.

Special Mentions: Rebecca Keen, Anna Brocklebank and Phoebe Dodd.

First published at 16:12, Thursday, 28 February 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk