Roya Rustamzada leads Oaklands Wolves up to seventh in the WBBL Championship.
WBBL Championship
Oaklands Wolves 77-66 Newcastle Eagles (17-18, 38-30, 51-48)
Oaklands Wolves have made it four straight WBBL Championship wins, and six in their last seven, as they beat Newcastle Eagles 77-66 at home.
It was an important win in the Play-off race as Oaklands move up to seventh with a 6-9 record, just one place behind Newcastle, although Eagles take the head-to-head courtesy of a 17 point win in November.
Leading scorers – Roya Rustamzada 25, Meg Pritchard 18, Beth Sarson 12 (Wolves); Kara Bonenberger 20, Georgia Ohrdorf 15, Giulia Simioni 11 (Eagles)
Turning point – The teams were separated by just one shot heading into the decisive fourth quarter, and the hosts opened with a 6-1 burst as Roya Rustamzada and Meg Pritchard hit consecutive three-pointers to make the score 57-48. The lead was double-digits with five minutes to play, at 67-57 on a Beth Sarson ‘and one’ as Wolves saw the game out.
Key stat – Wolves continued their run of good defensive performances and combined that with electrifying transition offence, as they forced 23 turnovers in the game and scored 25 points from those, a third of their total.
Game hero – Roya Rustamzada dominated the game, including forcing six of those turnovers through steals, and she had a big double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds.