Durham denied a slice of history by the neighbours
WBBL Championship
Durham Palatinates 60-65 Team Northumbria (23-18, 38-29, 52-43)
Durham Palatinates looked on course to record a first ever success as a WBBL club, but were denied in the north-east derby clash with Team Northumbria.
The home side had held a near double-digit lead heading into the last period, but hit a bad spell and never recovered as they slipped to defeat.
Leading scorers – Fong Lyew Quee 20, Jagodzinska 11, Tarnachowicz 9 (Palatinates) Gorrell 19, Ward 17, Ovner 15 (Northumbria)
Turning point – Leading by 9 points entering the fourth quarter, Durham must have felt like history was coming into sharp focus. However, they allowed the visitors to open the last period with a 7-0 burst and the confidence was knocked as Northumbria wrestled the initiative away.
Key stat – Durham will be gutted they didn’t make a couple more scores from long range as they missed 15 attempts from downtown.
Game hero(es) – Alison Gorrell put in a typical do-it-all display and was not far from a triple-double with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.