A gruelling sequence of two games in two days proved too much for Southend Swifts Cadets and under-14s as they fell short of a place in the Final Fours at RAF Cosforth.

The Cadets beat Notts Nova 70-59 on Saturday, thanks to a commanding third quarter to open up a 34-point lead that could never be caught up.

Jane Barclay (25 points), Rebecca Rambin (17) and Abi Dempsey (16) were the leading scorers.

But they bowed out in the quarter-finals after Barclay suffered a broken arm early in the trip to favourites Ellesmere Park and the depleted team lost 93-39.

The under-14s also went out in the quarters, going down 75-57 at Ware in a match played with the wrong-sized balls.

But they showed their progress in the last 16 with a 72-14 win. A 20-0 shut-out in the opening quarter set the tone, and despite a shortened match they rattled up a huge winning margin.

The Juniors are still in contention though, having won through to the semi-final day on April 17 against Northampton.

The Swifts squad notched a century against their Chiltern Pumas visitors to win 103-46.

Published Thursday April 8, 2004

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