City of Sheffield Hatters

The Sheffield Hatters are a women's basketball club from Sheffield, England. The club have been mainstays of the women's game in England for many years, having celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011, and were founder members of the professional Women's British Basketball League, which launched in 2014. They currently play in the new competition, launching in 2024 called Super League Basketball which is the new top competition for women’s basketball in Great Britain.

Sheffield Hatters
Sheffield Hatters logo
LeagueSLB
Founded1961
ArenaPark Community Arena
LocationSheffield, England
Main sponsorB.Braun
Championships1 WBBL Championship
2 WBBL Cup
Websitesheffieldhatters.com

History

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Founded in 1961,by Betty Codona OBE (1938–2022), the club's early years saw them compete primarily in local competition, although they did compete regularly in the Women's National Cup when this launched, making an appearance in the inaugural final in 1965.[1] The Hatters first entered the Women's National Basketball League in 1977, joining the league in Division 2 (North). After their first season, the club accepted a place in the expanding Division 1, but failed to win a single game in two seasons in Division 1, leading to them dropping back down to the regional division.

In 1984, the club were promoted back to the top flight as Division 2 (North) Champions, after which they began a period of steadily strengthening their position, reaching the end-of-series playoffs for the first time in 1988 and claiming their first league title in 1991. The best was still to come though, as the team won their first League, Playoff and Cup triple in 1993, and went through two entire seasons undefeated between 1995 and 1997, claiming every major honour along the way. The 1990s represented a golden age of dominance for the club, claiming both the league title and National Cup nine out of ten times, and adding six of the ten playoff titles to that number.[2]

Throughout the years, the club had played at a variety of venues, and attempts began to find a more permanent home in the early 2000s, when the club briefly relocated to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, sharing the venue with the City of Sheffield Arrows. However, the size and cost of the venue prompted a further move to the All Saints Catholic High School's Sports Centre in 2005, where they have remained ever since. While not quite up to the standard set in the previous decade, the 2000s still saw overwhelmingly strong results for the club, only once finishing outside the top three in any of the major tournaments. (A quarter-final defeat in the National Cup in 2000.)

With the London 2012 Olympics bringing extra exposure to basketball in the country, one of the Hatters' former players Jenaya Wade-Fray took to the court as part of Team GB.[3] The club were also invited to join the professional Women's British Basketball League in 2014, giving a new stage for the club to continue their leadership of the women's game, both on and off the court.

Honours

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Over their long history, the club have collected an enviable array of national titles, including winning the 'clean sweep' of League, National Cup and Playoffs on no less than ten occasions.[4][5] The club have also won a variety of local, junior and masters titles, which are listed on their website.

Women's British Basketball League

WBBL Play-offs

WBBL Trophy

WBBL Cup

NBL / EBL Division 1 League Champions

  • 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014

NBL / EBL Division 1 Playoff Champions

  • 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013

National Cup Champions

  • 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

National Trophy Champions

  • 1984

NBL Division 2 (North) League Champions

  • 1984

Season-by-season records

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Season[2][5][6] Division Played Won Lost Points League Playoffs Cup Trophy
City of Sheffield Hatters
1979–80 NBL Division 2 (North) Women 10 6 4 12 3rd DNQ 2nd Round N/A
1980–81 NBL Division 1 Women 14 0 14 0 8th DNQ DNE N/A
1981–82 NBL Division 1 Women 16 0 16 0 9th DNQ 1st Round N/A
1982–83 NBL Division 2 (North) Women 12 8 4 16 3rd DNQ 1st Round Semi-final
1983–84 NBL Division 2 (North) Women 12 11 1 22 1st Semi-final 2nd Round Winners
1984–85 NBL Division 1 Women 22 8 14 16 9th DNQ 2nd Round N/A
1985–86 NBL Division 1 Women 18 10 8 20 6th DNQ Quarter-final N/A
1986–87 NBL Division 1 Women 18 9 9 18 5th DNQ 2nd Round N/A
1987–88 NBL Division 1 Women 18 11 7 22 3rd Semi-final Quarter-final N/A
1988–89 NBL Division 1 Women 22 12 10 24 7th Semi-final 2nd Round N/A
1989–90 NBL Division 1 Women 22 20 2 40 2nd Runner-up Winners N/A
1990–91 NBL Division 1 Women 20 18 2 36 1st Semi-final Winners N/A
1991–92 NBL Division 1 Women 20 19 1 38 1st Runner-up Winners N/A
1992–93 NBL Division 1 Women 22 21 1 42 1st Winners Winners N/A
1993–94 NBL Division 1 Women 22 21 1 42 1st Runner-up Winners N/A
1994–95 NBL Division 1 Women 20 18 2 36 1st Winners Winners N/A
1995–96 NBL Division 1 Women 22 22 0 44 1st Winners Winners N/A
1996–97 NBL Division 1 Women 22 22 0 44 1st Winners Winners N/A
1997–98 NBL Division 1 Women 20 19 1 38 1st Winners Runner-up N/A
1998–99 NBL Division 1 Women 22 21 1 42 1st Winners Winners N/A
1999–2000 NBL Division 1 Women 22 21 1 42 1st Winners Quarter-final N/A
2000–01 NBL Division 1 Women 22 18 4 36 3rd Runner-up Runner-up N/A
2001–02 NBL Division 1 Women 16 14 2 28 1st Winners Winners N/A
2002–03 WNBL Conference 14 13 1 26 1st Winners Runner-up N/A
2003–04 EBL Division 1 Women 18 13 5 26 2nd Winners Semi-final N/A
2004–05 EBL Division 1 Women 18 16 2 32 2nd Runner-up Runner-up N/A
2005–06 EBL Division 1 Women 18 16 2 32 2nd Winners Runner-up N/A
2006–07 EBL Division 1 Women 16 15 1 30 1st Winners Winners N/A
2007–08 EBL Division 1 Women 18 17 1 34 1st Runner-up Runner-up N/A
2008–09 EBL Division 1 Women 20 19 1 38 1st Winners Winners N/A
2009–10 EBL Division 1 Women 20 19 1 38 1st Runner-up Winners N/A
2010–11 EBL Division 1 Women 21 20 1 40 1st Winners Winners N/A
2011–12 EBL Division 1 Women 21 18 3 36 2nd Winners Winners N/A
2012–13 EBL Division 1 Women 18* 17 0 34 1st Winners Winners N/A
2013–14 EBL Division 1 Women 14 12 2 24 1st Runner-up Quarter-final N/A
2014–15 WBBL 18 17 1 34 Winners Winners Semi-final Winners
2015–16 WBBL 16 13 3 26 3rd Semi-final Semi-final Winners
2016–17 WBBL 18 11 7 22 5th Semi-final Semi-final Semi-final
2017–18 WBBL 20 14 6 28 3rd Semi-final Quarter-final Semi-final
2018–19 WBBL 22 16 4 32 3rd - Winners Semi-final
  • In the 2002–2003 season the WNBL Conference operated as the top-flight league, ahead of Division One.
  • In 2003 the NBL was replaced by the EBL, which reinstated Division One as the top flight.
  • One match in the 2012–2013 season against Newham Stars was declared void.

Players

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Current roster

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht.
G 2   Cardenas, Rebecca 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
G 3   Fong Lyew Quee, Nicolette 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
G 4   Whitehouse, Abby 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
C 5   Shaw, Hannah 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F 9   Naylor, Helen 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
SG 11 McGrath, Charley
F 12   Gill, Ariona 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
F 13   Campbell, Naomi 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
G 14   Nee, Aisling
C 15   Jamison-Myers, Nyilah 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
G 20   Ioannou, Elysa
G 22   Gayle, Georgia
Head coach

  Vanessa Ellis


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  •   Injured

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C
PF
SF
SG
PG

Notable former players

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References

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  1. ^ "Women's Cups Roll of Honour". pawprint75.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 April 2006.
  2. ^ a b "Sheffield Hatters History". pawprint75.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009.
  3. ^ "Meet Team GB". thetimes.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Sheffield Hatters Roll of Honour". Sheffield Hatters.
  5. ^ a b "Basketball England League Tables". Basketball England.
  6. ^ "WBBL Title History". WBBL.org.uk.[permanent dead link]
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