WBBL Championship
Nottingham Wildcats 52-59 Sevenoaks Suns (14-17, 25-29, 35-42)
Sevenoaks Suns, the reigning WBBL Play-off champions, scored a crucial 59-52 opening day victory over Nottingham Wildcats, current league champions, in a clash between two of this season’s favourites.
Suns prevailed through a war of attrition to score a first ever WBBL win in Nottingham, at the ninth attempt, after a strong third quarter.
Leading Scorers – Harris 19, Lovett 11, Doran 7 (Wildcats); Carr 20, Pressley 15, Clarke 6 (Suns)
Turning Point – Suns opened the second half with an 11-2 push to break open a tight encounter, Chantelle Pressley scoring six in that spell as the hosts were allowed just one basket in over eight minutes. Renee Busch then hit a three-pointer in the fourth to make the lead double-figures, giving Suns enough to see off a late rally.
Key Stat – Free-throw shooting proved to be the difference on a night when neither side shot well from the field – Wildcats 35%, Suns 28%. The victors went 14-18 (77%) at the line, compared to Nottingham’s 6-12 (50%) – a difference of eight points on a winning margin of seven.
Game Hero – Cat Carr lead all scorers with a massive double-double haul of 20 points and 11 rebounds. She also drew six fouls, as the hosts struggled to cope with her strong inside play.