Oaklands’ 0 has got to go.
WBBL Championship
Oaklands Wolves 62-43 Essex Rebels (10-13, 28-22, 43-35)
Oaklands Wolves picked up their first win of the WBBL Championship campaign, and ignited the Play-off chase, by beating rivals Essex Rebels 62-43.
After numerous close games this season, it was a first win in eleven home games dating back to April, and moved Wolves level with Rebels on a 1-8 record after this battle between the bottom two.
Leading scorers – Lizzy Harrison 18, Tia Freeman 16, Meg Pritchard 9 (Wolves); Cat Lutz 18, DeAngelique Waithe 6, Barbara Ojeda-Corominas 6 (Rebels)
Turning point – After a very low-scoring start, a run of eight unanswered points in the second stanza, in which Tia Freeman scored six, was followed by an equivalent run in the third quarter sparked by three-pointers from Meg Pritchard and Beth Sarson, and Wolves led by double-figures at 39-28. There was no way back as Wolves won the fourth quarter 19-8.
Key stat – In a tense and defensive game, Wolves held their visitors to just 24% shooting from the field. Crucially, despite being heavily out-rebounded, they scored 26 points from the massive 32 turnovers that their intense defence forced. Overall, 43 points is the second lowest in any league game this season.
Game hero(es) – Lizzy Harrison (18) and Tia Freeman (16) combined for more than half of their team’s points, with Freeman also grabbing eight rebounds and four steals.