Turney hails Warwickshire Bears' team spirit

It was tough baptism for Turney, in her first appearance since giving birth to a baby girl, but she was delighted with how it went as Bears won three of the weekend’s four games.

“Playing for the Bears this weekend was one of my most exhilarating experiences since having my baby,” said Turney.

“I loved getting back on court and feeling the blood pumping.

“It’s such a fast exciting game.

“The team spirit is great and we were all delighted with our hard-fought successes.”

As well as welcoming back Turney, Bears gave debuts to two new faces in Jaymee Powell and Jenny Lee Rollason and all three were able to feature prominently in an opening 34-6 victory over Stoke Spitfires.

However, a nervy opening against Angels of the North 3 left Bears facing a sizeable first-half deficit and despite limiting their opponents to just nine points in the second half, they succumbed to a 44-17 defeat.

Stoke Spitfires were again the opponents for Sunday’s first game and, having lent their shorthanded opponents the services of Powell, Bears ran out comfortable 26-11 winners to set up an intriguing final clash against Angels of the North 3.

And, having learned from the mistakes of the previous day, Bears played a high-intensity defence to keep within touching distance of Angels before going ahead in the final quarter to secure a 24-16 win.