Oaklands Wolves secure second spot in the WBBL Trophy South 2 group.

WBBL Trophy, Group Stage

Oaklands Wolves 68-59 Cardiff Met Archers (15-14, 37-22, 52-33)

Oaklands Wolves beat Cardiff Met Archers for the third time in a month, 68-59, to secure second place in the WBBL Trophy South 2 group, which has already been won by Leicester Riders.

Wolves have now won three of their last four home games, and return to the WBBL Championship Play-off race having won four of their last five games in the league.

Leading scorers – Roya Rustamzada 17, Lauren Milligan 11, Dorka Boros 10 (Wolves) ; Carsidalia Silva 14, Sarah Wagstaff 7, Robyn Lewis 6 (Archers)

Turning point – Wolves won the first three quarters and although the opening ten minutes were tight, they opened the second period with eight straight points, Roya Rustamzada scoring consecutively, and went on to win the stanza by 14 to establish a commanding double-digit lead, which gave them enough to hold off a late fightback.

Key stat – Cranking up the defence proved decisive for Oaklands – especially as they didn’t make a three-pointer in the entire game – as they held their visitors to just three made field goals and eight points in the decisive second quarter. This has been the foundation of their recent success, as they have held their visitors to fewer than 60 points in four of their last six home games.

Game hero(es) – Rustamzada led Wolves’ scoring once more with 17 points including 7-10 free-throws as she proved too much for the visitors to handle.