Riders take 2nd place with win over Hatters.
WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 82-66 Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters (23-19, 45-26, 66-50)
Leicester Riders sealed second place in the WBBL Championship after a convincing victory over Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters.
A top-two finish was on the line as both teams entered with the same record, but Riders prevailed to finish 18-4 with Newcastle Eagles awaiting in the benecos WBBL Play-Offs.
Leading scorers – Holly Winterburn 22, Rebecca Navarro 17, Mollie Campbell 9 (Riders) – Alison Gorrell 22, Sarah Toeaina 18, Luiana Livulo 12 (Hatters)
Turning point – The Trophy winners were impressive in the first half as they took control to take a commanding 19-point advantage and that set the tone with Sheffield unable to claw back the deficit.
Key stat – Leicester’s bench contributed 32 points in the win, while the Hatters had two points with their starters logging heavy minutes.
Game hero(es) – Winterburn led the way for the Riders with 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting, while Navarro was also in double figures with 17 points off the bench. Kate Oliver grabbed 12 boards to go with nine points with Brea Elmore dishing out 11 assists.