Sevenoaks Suns move clear at the top of the WBBL Championship table with a fifth straight win.
WBBL Championship
Manchester Mystics 61-65 Sevenoaks Suns (12-16, 27-39, 43-53)
There’s only one unbeaten team left standing in the WBBL Championship after Sevenoaks Suns scored a crucial 65-61 road win at Manchester Mystics in a clash of the top two.
It means Suns move to 5-0 and take a big step towards defending their crown. They now hold three consecutive wins over their rivals and, amazingly, are unbeaten in Manchester in five years since the inception of the WBBL.
Leading scorers – Roscoe 18, Ovner 14, Smith 13 (Mystics); Fritz 16, Carr 14, Good 14 (Suns)
Turning point – Suns dominated the second quarter to take a double-digit lead into halftime, as Judit Fritz hit five early points, opening a 10-2 run with a three-pointer that was capped in-kind by Katie Bennett for a 26-16 lead. It peaked at 35-20 as Jess Good scored seven quick points, and they held on down the stretch despite the hosts coming all the way back and Georgia Jones missing a three-pointer to tie the game with nine seconds remaining.
Key stat – Suns’ defence set up the win as they held the hosts to just 27 first half points, shooting only 35% from the field and 11% from beyond the three-point line. Mystics’ star Georgia Jones wasn’t allowed to score in the entire first half, shooting 0-5.
Game hero – Suns out-rebounded Mystics 46-33 and were led in that department by Jess Good, who posted a double-double of 14 points and 13 boards, adding four assists, four steals and two blocks for an impressive stat line.