Title race continues, Durham remain in hunt for Play-Offs

The WBBL Championship title race heads into the final weekend of the regular season with Sevenoaks Suns and Leicester Riders both on 18-1 records.

Len Busch’s Sevenoaks side hold the crucial head-to-head advantage and they edged closer to the title with a 79-45 victory over Oaklands Wolves as four players hit double figures in the win.

 

“We were able to get a good win yesterday with it being our last regular home game of the season,” said Cat Carr, who top scored with 15 points.

“We were looking to come out and execute good defence, good shots and good communication, and I think we did that for most of the game.

“We are looking to close out the season on a high by getting a win up in Manchester next weekend. We have taken it game by game throughout this season and we will continue to do that.”

Leicester managed to extend the title race with an important double-winning weekend as they eased to an 82-59 victory over Manchester Mystics, on BBC Sport, before beating Caledonia Pride 50-63 on Sunday behind 25 points from Holly Winterburn.

 

Meanwhile, Durham Palatinates hopes of completing a remarkable turnaround to make the Play-Offs are still alive after they defeated Nottingham Wildcats 85-75 amid defeats to Caledonia and Oaklands.

The North-East side close out the regular season with crucial fixtures against Pride and Wolves knowing that two victories are essential.

Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee fired in 30 points and dished out 8 assists, while Cierra Ceazar posted 28 points and 18 rebounds as both players put in impressive 40-minute displays for their side.

“Nottingham are a very good team and it was always going to be tough even without [Ashley] Harris, however we know the only way to make Play-Offs is to win these last games and we played with confidence,” declared Fong Lyew Quee – a silver medalist in the Gold Coast.

“Iā€™m proud of our patience towards the end of the game, especially when it got within one.

“We are excited of the possibility of making the Play-Offs, but we are just taking one game at a time and giving our best.”

 

There was a first league victory of the season for BA London Lions as a strong fourth quarter push helped secure a 74-82 win on the road at Team Northumbria as Flora Durgerian and Christina Gaskin combined for 29 points.

On Saturday, Oaklands had claimed the head-to-head over Caledonia with a dramatic 64-63 triumph, despite 19 points from Tricia Oakes and Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters recorded an emphatic 30-84 win at Cardiff Met Archers.

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