Meet the Basketball team’s Captain Fantastic

Ashleigh Davies is 19 and Captain of the Women’s Basketball team. Ash is going into her second year of Biomedical Science and still manages to balance basketball with booze and good times. The girls’ team is boss, to put it bluntly. And if you disagree, you will have changed your mind by the end of this interview.

Captain Ashleigh Davies, off the court

Where abouts in the city do you live, and who with?

I live in Kensington with 4 other people at the moment. Sarah who is the Vice Captain of the Basketball team, Jay who I went to school with, Liam who is on my course and Sean who I work with.

What’s your favourite club or bar?

Level, definitely Level. Level two to be more specific. R&B and Basketball socials, its brilliant. It has the best music, cheap drinks and as mates we’ve made some brilliant and hilarious memories there. A night out at Level is definitely a great way of bonding for the team.

What’s your favourite drink when you’re out?

Vodka lemonade & lime and cider & black are two of my favourites, but I can down a pint of Guinness in 4.11 seconds. Level on a Wednesday is definitely the best for cheap drinks.

You mentioned Basketball socials, what happens on one?

Basketball socials are a good way for the team to bond off the court, and also to have a great time. Its important for the team to be friends on and off the court to ensure we have team cohesion, allowing us to perform as one unit on the court instead of five individual players.

Exotic

Socials are a way of getting to know your teammates better, welcoming in the freshers and allowing your team to become your second family. We usually have joint socials with the men and we have pre-drinks and go out on Wednesdays to celebrate after a win. However we’ve all become close friends so sometimes we will have game nights or movie nights or go out for food on a weekend as well. And, of course, there are a lot of drinking games on our socials.

What’s your best story from a social?

I’ve asked the girls about this one and there are so many stories to pick from. On tour with the team we had challenges, mine was to collect lads’ underpants. In comparison to other challenges that were like “get 7 piggy backs”, “do a shot in every club”, mine was pretty difficult. I mean I had to get someone’s fucking underwear. Still, I did it before we even got to the first club with some light “negotiation” with a bloke dressed as a caveman.

Ash before a big night out

The deal was that I had too mooney him and then sit on his face. But luckily, one of the other girls challenges was to neck anyone so she necked him and then we got his pants. That is one of the funniest, but then there’s the time 20 chicken nuggets were held hostage, but that’s a story for another time. We have too much fun to pin point one.

What did the women’s basketball team achieve last season?

We got first place in the BUCS Northern Conference Cup and first place in the Northern 2A League. We had to play University of Liverpool in the final in Durham and it was the most stressful game I played in university basketball – followed by the best euphoria ever. When we won, the whole team jumped on top of each other on the floor. We won the cup by one point with about two seconds left on the clock.

The girls after their cup win

Finally, who would you say is a player to watch or who is a rising star in the team?

Every single player is always improving in terms of skills on the court, however the biggest change I’ve seen personally on the court is Becky Cochran. She’s gained a lot of confidence and that allows her to push herself and her skills in game situations.