01 May 2017: Suns 67-56 Northumbria

A strong finish sees Sevenoaks Suns knock out the reigning champions and make the WBBL Championship Play-off semi-finals.

WBBL Championship Play-offs, Quarter-Final
Sevenoaks Suns 67 (8,24,41) (Carr 24, Nikitinaite 12, Pedersen 12)
Team Northumbria 56 (19,27,46) (Gorrell 26, Bonenberger 10, Bland 8)

Sevenoaks Suns prevailed with a dominant fourth quarter to become the final side to qualify for the WBBL Championship Play-off semi-finals, beating the reigning champions Team Northumbria 67-56 on Monday.

Suns trailed for much of the game, coming into it having only won once in seven WBBL meetings against Northumbria, with a recent loss against their opponents being the only blemish on their run in to the regular season.

And Alison Gorrell fired the visitors into an early lead, as she scored ten first quarter points to put Northumbria up 19-8, before opening the second stanza with a lay-up and a big block on Cat Carr.

Suns were shooting just 21%, including missing all of their first seven three-point attempts. But a Renee Busch three-pointer eventually connected, and that formed part of an 11-2 finish to the first half to keep them within striking distance.

Suns, the best defensive team in the BBL, allowed their visitors just one basket in eight minutes and snatched the lead when they scored the first seven of the second half, four for Molten Young Player of the Year Gabby Nikitinaite and another Busch triple, 31-27.

But Northumbria weren’t done in defence of their crown as they took the lead back, Gorrell adding another nine points in a 13-5 spell in response, and they carried a 46-41 edge into the final ten minutes.

Suns won it when another Busch three-pointer sparked a decisive 13-2 surge early in the fourth quarter, getting them back in front at 57-52 as Carr and Nikitinaite added treys of their own. Sevenoaks shot 61% from beyond the arc in the second half, after that slow start.

Anne Pedersen, Nikitinaite and Carr scored seven points each in the final period – which Suns won 26-10 – as the latter led her team, with 24 points and nine rebounds.