Suns turn up the dial
WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 58-77 Sevenoaks Suns (15-23, 34-31, 44-50)
Reigning WBBL Champions Sevenoaks Suns made a powerful statement of intent as they stormed past Riders on the road to make it a perfect 10 of 10 in the league.
The title holders showcased their power in the second half and maintained their unbeaten record, turning up the heat on their rivals and making it a super start to 2019 so far.
Leading scorers – Deanne Hayward 16, Brea Elmore 12, Claire Paxton 10 (Riders) – Janice Monakana 21, Julia Koppl 13, Ta’Yani Clark 12, Renee Busch 12 (Suns)
Turning point – Seemingly stung by a mediocre second period, Suns came out from the half-time break fired up and after a strong third quarter, continued their good work early in the fourth period to kill off Riders.
Key stat – Sevenoaks were dominant in the paint and outscored their opponents 44-32 in this area. They also kept the talented Holly Winterburn quiet with the Riders’ ace scoring just 4 points.
Game hero(es) – Janice Monakana continued her rich vein of form with 21 points, Ta’Yani Clark did the dirty work with 16 rebounds, as did Jess Good with 12 boards.