We take a look back on the Mystics 2023-24 season back in D1.

The Manchester Mystics narrowly missed out on a playoff place after this weekend’s loss to Anglia Ruskin University but have laid the foundations for the future after a successful season back in D1.

Coming down to the last game of the season, it was a “win and you’re in” scenario for the Mystics who were hoping to steal the 8th seed playoff spot away from Bristol. However a 75-58 loss for a shorthanded Mystics team, meant they would miss out. Rehana Khalil finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and Ellie Costa added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Building the Team

The Mystics were promoted to D1 for the 23-24 season after two successful seasons in D2. A 9-3 finish last year and a trip to the Playoff Finals in 2021-22, which they reached after knocking out the top seeded 15-1 Stockport Lapwings in the Semi Finals after Charli Wroe’s last second heroics, saw them runners up to the formidable Sheffield Hatters.

The Mystics finish their season back in D1 in 9th place with a record of 8-14, with 4 of those losses coming by 6 points or less. Whilst disappointing for the team to miss out on a playoff spot there are huge positives for a team many at the start of the season wouldn’t have expected to be challenging for the playoffs let alone playing top ranked teams as close as they did.

Heading into this season with a different look from last year’s D2 side, coach Rob Fairley incorporated players from the U18 and U16 Mystics sides with a focus on providing opportunities for development and a pathway through to the senior team. Adding these players alongside veterans Khalil, Hannah Alty, Nat Feurtado and Remi Idowu has provided younger players on the team with valuable leaders to learn from. The growth of the team as a whole and the individual players has been evident game by game and an exciting one for fans to watch from the sidelines all season long.

The Vets

Announced as recipient of Basketball England’s “All Girls Inspiring Female of the Year” in the North West Region last month and a National Cup winner with the Stockport Lapwings, Khalil’s leadership on and off the court was evident to see. Leading the Mystics in assists (10th in the league) with 3.3 and rebounds (6.7) she was also 4th in the league in 3pt% (36.7) and finishes with 10.1 ppg. In a run of three games at the start of this year, Khalil averaged a double double of 19.0 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists as she hit 12 3’s.

Alongside Khalil, U18 coach Alty (3.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 apg) proved time and time again how important off ball work is setting the tone for the team on defence. Feurtado (4.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg) spent several seasons playing for the WBBL Mystics and brings that experience out on court. Idowu (3.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) rounds out the core, returning to Manchester after playing for the University of Essex. Idowu’s presence inside for the Mystics was crucial and her ability to position herself under the basket was on display as she pulled down 12 rebounds against Brent and 11 v Reading.

Emerging Stars

The young talent on display was clear from the start as Irene Oboavwoduo, who at just 15 years old, led the Mystics in scoring (12.8) and steals per game (2.5), was second in rebounds (6.1) and assists (2.4). The GB and England U16 guard continued to show why she is one of the most exciting young players in the country to watch as she showed off her well rounded game throughout the season.

Ellie Costa, named to the England U18 squad earlier this year, averaged 9.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals, dropping a season high 20 and 4 3’s against Birmingham in January and the development of her game over the course of the season was clear to see as she directed the team on offence. Her sister, Carina provided a spark off the bench for the Mystics all season long (6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 1.5 spg) with both players also representing the Mystics in the WEABL. Adding Success Odemwinge (7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.5 spg), a player who uses her speed to push the Mystics ahead in transition, helped Manchester build their identity: Get defensive stops and get out on the break quickly.

Favour Elabor led the team in offensive rebounds (2.5) on her way to 5.3 rebounds per game, 2.4 points and an assist. Alex Escriva (2.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 apg) playing in her last season for Manchester before heading over to the Jefferson College in Missouri finished the last 3 games of the season averaging 5.0 boards.

Alongside playing, Esha Nayar (2.7 rpg) is making an impact off the court as part of Basketball England’s Future Youth Committee : a youth-led initiative designed to better connect us with the young people who will shape our game’s future. A deep bench for Manchester allowed contributions from Daisy Bryan (2.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.2 apg), Alex Hernandez (5.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.7 spg), Esi Asante (1.8 ppg), Holly Bryan (1.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 1.0 apg) and Grace Tuck (1.3 ppg). The last home game of the season against Reading provided Isobel Robinson an opportunity to get back on court after recovering from an injury suffered in the 22-23 season. Seizing the moment she got herself on the scoreboard and added a rebound, assist and steal.

The Season: A Strong Start

Starting the season with a 3-0 record, the Mystics set the tone early that, while they may be newcomers to D1, they were going to be a tough team to go against. In their opening game against City of Birmingham Rockets, Irene Oboavwoduo and Carina Costa exploded onto the stage in their debuts with the senior team, dropping 17 points each. Oboavwoduo added 6 rebounds and 7 steals and Costa grabbed 9 boards in the 66-57 win over team that knocked them out of the National Cup last year. A 73-68 win against Bristol Flyers followed, with Oboavwoduo again putting the league on notice as she scored 17 points and Costa finished with 12 off the bench. A 66-60 victory over the Solent Kestrels rounded out the Mystics hot start in the first month of the season.

A 1-6 stretch followed as the team ran into buzzsaws at the top of the table in Ipswich, and Brent. Losing to Ipswich by 59 points and Brent by 38. Then, just before the Christmas break, the Mystics, led by Khalil flipped a switch… Hosting COLA, a team renowned for its defensive pressure and strong inside presence, the Mystics held them to a season low 41 points, and handed them one of their only 5 losses. Khalil dropped 20 points, hitting 4 of 4 from behind the arc and Alty put on a masterclass in working off the ball and boxing out, her impact on the game may not show up on the stat sheet but her hard work has been indispensable all season. That win kicked off a 4-0 run for the team and a scoring outburst from Khalil who scored 10+ points in 7 of the next 8 games.

Challenging the Best

When Ipswich, fresh off winning the National Cup, travelled to Manchester for the return leg in February many wouldn’t have predicted what was to come. Remember that 59 point loss earlier in the season? The Mystics did, and would go onto show how different a team they were from October. Ipswich held a slim 32-31 lead heading into halftime, with the Mystics defensive ability on display. Taking a 1 point lead behind a Khalil basket as the 3rd quarter opened, the Mystics fought Ipswich every step of the way. After falling behind 10 late in the third, an Ellie Costa free throw made it a 3 point game with 5:15 to play in the 4th but Ipswich proved too strong as they closed out 76-64. Khalil finished with 23 points (14 in the 4th), shooting 5/6 from 3, along with 11 rebounds and 5 assists. A massively improved performance from that trip down south earlier in the season, but the Mystics didn’t stop there.

Hosting (at the time) second in the league Brent Bulls, the following weekend and with the knowledge that they more than held their own against Ipswich, Manchester came close to pulling off an upset as they held a 1 point lead with 94 seconds left in the game. A Rocky Davids basket as the shot clock ran down put Brent ahead with 44 seconds to play and WBBL great Judit Fritz sealed a 62-59 win at the line for Brent. Ellie Costa led the way with 16 points (3/3 from behind the arc) and Khalil added a double double of 15 points and 12 rebounds along with 7 assists with the Mystics showing once again that they were a team who can go up against the best in the league.

Whilst Manchester were unable to secure another win the rest of the way, the fact that they were still challenging for the playoffs in their last game shows the strength of the squad and the development over the course of the season. The losses they had to teams in the first half of the season (Ipswich, ARU, Brent, Thames Valley and Reading) were by an average of 34.6 points. Second time round, the Mystics improved on those earlier performances each time, and lost against those teams by an average of 15.0.

With foundations laid this year and the young talent continuing to develop on the Mystics squad, the future for this group in D1 is certainly very bright!

Manchester Mystics D1 home games from this season can be watched on the Manchester Magic and Mystics Youtube channel.

Postgame with Remi Idowu and Ellie Costa after the Brent Bulls game below and on FocusHoops YouTube: