An important Saturday in the WBBL Championship title race went to form as three of the contenders scored crucial wins.

At the summit, Nottingham Wildcats took a big step towards defending the title as Ashley Harris posted a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead them to a 74-52 defeat of Barking Abbey Crusaders.

That came after Manchester Mystics, in second place, had maintained the pressure by beating Team Northumbria 85-72, with Georgia Jones scoring 21 points, with eight rebounds and eight assists.

Finally, Sevenoaks Suns kept their outside shot at the title alive as they took a share of third spot by beating Caledonia Pride 86-70 on the road, Cat Carr leading the day’s scorers with 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

At the other end of the table, that defeat saw Pride drop out of the Play-off places.