Natalie Bastian dumped to the court by the physical Leicester defence during the recent Caledonia Pride WBBL clash

Caledonia Pride face the might of Nottingham Wildcats when the Midlands side first foot in the Women’s British Basketball League at Oriam on Saturday (1pm).

The English outfit top the table and Wildcats’ Ashley Harris is in the race to be crowned Player of the Year.

The forward played a pivotal role in the Wildcats’ December form in which the team recorded the highest score of the season so far when they netted 105 points against the Archers in Cardiff.

Harris signed off December with an outstanding performance against Oaklands Wolves collecting 36 points, 16 rebounds, six steals, four assists and four blocked shots.

She was given a starting place in the WBBL All Star Five on three occasions during the month and averaged 28.3 points in four games.

Harris also shot 80 per cent from the floor and will be a major factor in the game as Pride shake off rust having not played since December 17.

Then they lost 57-39 at Oriam to Leicester Riders but that was an improvement on the scoreline when the sides first met in England earlier in the season.

Bart Sengers, the club’s head coach, is looking for a similar improvement against Wildcats who won the first clash 91-52 in Nottingham in October.

The squad have been working hard in training this week ahead of the joust and Sengers will delay his squad announcement until near tip-off.

He said: “We have some injuries but we have been working hard this week and have realistic expectations ahead of the game.

“Nottingham have the best player in the league in Ashley Harris in their side and have a lot of height and a lot of experience.

“We are developing our game but we will go in there looking to improve.”

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