Newcastle Eagles Women’s side have had their preseason planning disrupted with the unfortunate news that Saturday’s return friendly having to be cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances of injury and sickness in the Caledonia Gladiators team.

It was disappointing news for head Coach Chloe Gaynor and her players who start their Super League Basketball (SLB) Championship season next weekend with a trip to Leicester Riders next Sunday.

The Eagles went down to a 98 – 72 loss last weekend at Caledonia and had been looking forward to a return fixture.

“I was okay with the result. We were in it with them and competed for around 25 mins. We just need to work on being a 40-minute team, which you also don’t expect at this point of the season,” said Gaynor.

“I think it was good to be able to give our newcomers a taste of what the league is like and we know Caledonia will be a top team in the league this season.

“We had far too many turnovers, some of that down to only being together a couple of weeks and just getting to know each other and others down to fatigue and decision making which is what we will look at working on in the coming weeks as they impact both ends of the floor.

“I thought we rebounded well offensively and we saw some good defensive rotations at times, as well as offensive reads. It’s just now about doing them on a more regular basis which will come together over the coming weeks.”

With the home pre-season game with Caledonia having to be cancelled Gaynor and the club are fitting in a ‘behind closed doors’ friendly tomorrow, before that trip to Leicester next weekend for the 2026/27 SLB season opener.

Fans who purchased tickets for the cancelled Saturday night warm-up game will be given a full refund in the coming days.

Tickets for Sunday 11 October’s 5pm tip-off against Nottingham at the Vertu Arena for the home opener are available now on the box office.