History keeps on flowing for Suns as they book first ever Play-Off Final spot

WBBL Play-Offs, Semi-Finals
Leicester Riders 53 (19,36,42) (Smith 13, McGarrachan 12, Thompson 11)
Sevenoaks Suns 56 (11,29,47) (Nikitinaite 14, Busch/Carr 13)

Sevenoaks Suns are heading to The O2 after overcoming Leicester Riders 53-56 on the road in a thrilling Semi-Final encounter.

The Suns triumphed over Leicester in the WBBL Trophy Final back in March and needed to rally from 14 points down to set up a showdown with Nottingham Wildcats next Sunday.

Gabby Nikitinaite top scored in the win with 14 points, while Renee Busch and Cat Carr both added 13 points apiece, while Anne Pedersen came up with 10 rebounds.

It was the home side who made the brighter start with a 14-0 run establishing an early double-digit advantage at 16-4. The Riders continued to push on in the second to move 28-14 ahead before a strong finish to the half from the Suns managed to cut the deficit down to seven.

Sevenoaks stepped things up on defence in the second half, holding their opponents to just six points in the third period as they took the lead with a 10-2 run.

The Suns had a five-point cushion heading into the final quarter and just as Leicester closed to within one, a huge three from Busch sparked a decisive 7-0 burst to make it 48-56.

Leicester responded with the next five points and had the chance to force overtime, but could not connect from 3-point range.

Alex Smith led the Riders with 13 points along with seven assists, while Jamila Thompson posted a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds as the Riders miss out on making a second Final of the season.