Peter Symonds College Bunnies' girls' basketball team have made a strong start to what they hope will be a championship winning campaign.

After finishing in the top four in the country last season, coach Dave Sanders is predicting an improvement.

"This season basketball at the college has been running on an American style academy set-up," said Sanders.

"The girls trained throughout the summer holidays and now train regularly four times a week, including one early morning session before college starts. I'm highly impressed with their progress. They have improved both physically and technically.

"Our aim is to win trophies this year, and the support the squad has had from Brooks Macdonald has given us a boost.' Symonds is the only southern team in the newly-formed National Academies League.

The girls, led by captain Nicky Jobson, Symonds' all-time record points scorer, are unbeaten in competitive matches this season.

They thrashed both Alton and Itchen colleges by more than 70 points to take an early lead at the top of the Hampshire League. They also beat QMC 67-10 in the BCS National Cup, with Jobson netting 33 points.