A great team performance for Riders sees them past Archers and maintains the pressure at the top.
WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 74 – 55 Cardiff Met Archers (18-14, 38-29, 52-44)
Leicester Riders overpowered Cardiff Met Archers 74-55 at Leicester Arena to maintain the pressure on Sevenoaks Suns at the top of the WBBL Championship table, making it eight league wins in a row.
Riders have now won the last ten meetings with Archers, and have won all six WBBL clashes in the East Midlands.
Leading scorers – Hayward 16, Oliver 16, McGarrachan 11 (Riders); Shanahan 15, Schnorr 14, Simpson 11 (Archers)
Turning point – Riders gave themselves some breathing room after a close opening when they scored the last five points of the first half, to lead 38-29 on Alex Smith’s three-pointer. But the game wasn’t settled until the lead went through double-figures with a 7-2 start to the fourth quarter as Erin McGarrachan scored five points.
Key stat – Riders dominated the game on the inside, scoring 48 points in the paint compared to just 14 for their visitors. That was facilitated by the 21 points that resulted from the 19 turnovers that they forced, as well as 16 second chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.
Game hero – Dee Hayward and Kate Oliver scored 16 points each, but Jamila Thompson did much of the hard work for Riders. Despite scoring just six points, she grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out nine assists for her teammates.