WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 85-63 Caledonia Pride (26-23, 51-42, 68-53)
Leicester Riders have started the WBBL Championship season with consecutive wins, beating Caledonia Pride 85-63 and thereby inflicting a first defeat of the campaign upon their Edinburgh rivals.
Dee Hayward led the Riders as a key spell in the middle of the game gave them a commanding lead, before a defensive lockdown in the fourth quarter kept their visitors at arm’s length.
Leading Scorers – Hayward 18, Thompson 16, Campbell 14 (Riders); Reynolds 19, Thomson 12, Lewis 9 (Pride)
Turning Point – Riders posted an 8-2 run in the final two minutes of the second stanza, Erin McGarrachan scoring consecutively, before doing exactly the same to open the third quarter, Hayward and Jamila Thompson sharing the points, to make the run 16-4 for what proved to be an insurmountable 59-44 lead.
Key Stats – Riders recorded an impressive 30 assists in an excellent team display, led by 12 from Alex Smith, who also added 12 points for a double-double.
Game Hero – Jamila Thompson did a bit of everything in the game, scoring 16 points to go with nine rebounds and eight assists, while Dee Hayward’s 18 points led the victors.