Holly Winterburn comes close to another triple-double as Riders begin their Trophy defence.
WBBL Trophy, Group Stage
Oaklands Wolves 67-94 Leicester Riders (10-25, 32-43, 47-66)
Leicester Riders got their WBBL Trophy defence off to a winning start as they beat Oaklands Wolves 94-67 on the road in the South 2 group.
Riders had already won twice at Oaklands this campaign – in the league and Cup – and now hold nine straight wins over Wolves since October 2016.
Leading scorers – Tia Freeman 14, Lauren Milligan/Meg Pritchard/Beth Sarson 8 (Wolves); Holly Winterburn 29, Rebecca Navarro 17, Kate Oliver 16 (Riders)
Turning point – Kate Oliver scored the opening two baskets of the contest as Riders started 6-0 in the first three minutes, before they lead 13-4 on Jennifer Ashton’s three-pointer. Once a double-digit lead was established at 16-6 when Holly Winterburn hit the first of her two early triples, Riders never looked back; and it was settled when they scored the first 12 points of the third period, in another five minute scoreless spell for the hosts.
Key stat – Leicester’s defence was too much for Oaklands as Riders nabbed a massive 15 steals in the game while also restricting the hosts to just 33% shooting from the field and out-rebounding them 61-44.
Game hero(es) – Holly Winterburn filled the statsheet once more in another all-action display. She came close to an extraordinary triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and eight steals, hitting 5-10 three-pointers.