With the inaugural and historic WBBL Cup Final between Nottingham Wildcats and Manchester Mystics approaching, we get the lowdown on the big game at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on Sunday from Sevenoaks Suns’ play-caller Len Busch.
“I am looking forward to the Cup Final. It should be a great game and will showcase two very different teams.
“Manchester are probably the best three-point shooting team in the WBBL and they set it all up with pick and roll action featuring Georgia Jones coming off Dominique Allen screens. Teams have tried to defend this action a lot of different ways with limited success. Georgia is playing as well as I’ve seen and Dominique is very good in her role with this team.
“With Amy Browne(46% from 3-pt range) and Sierra Schwellenbach (56%) waiting on the three point line, they present big problems. Georgia herself has to be guarded as she is shooting 39% from downtown. The bonus for the Manchester has to be that Rheanne Bailey, who is now also a legitimate three-point threat herself at 39%.
“Nottingham on the other hand is built around the best inside/outside player in the league in Ashley Harris. She is averaging 27 points and over 10 rebounds per game while shooting 39% from the three point line. Melissa Mendes (39%), Siobhan Prior (37%) and Lauren Hebert(45%) are formidable three-point threats who make Nottingham very explosive offensively.
“It’s possible that Nottingham might have the defensive players capable of preventing the Manchester shooters from getting the open looks they are used to. It’s also possible that Manchester could come up with a scheme to keep Ashley Harris in check.
“I make Nottingham, the defending WBBL League Champions as the slight favourite, although Manchester is capable of pulling off the upset.
“It should be a great game!”
You can follow Coach Busch @LenBusch
The WBBL Cup Final is at midday on BBC Sport, BBC red button, BBC Sport App and Connected TV.