WBBL Trophy Quarter Final
Nottingham Wildcats 75-41 Durham Palatinates (18-13, 43-22, 59-30, 75-41)
(Wildcats: C.Shumpert – 23, J.Joyner – 18, S.Prior – 9; Palatinates: K.Elderkin – 10, C.Paxton – 8, L.Van Straaten – 8)
WBBL Championship
Cardiff Met Archers 54-62 Oaklands Wolves (13-19, 32-32, 39-48, 54-62)
(Archers: M.Ball – 13, C.Bigica – 10, R.Lewis – 9; A.Carter – 13, L.Rouse – 10, D.Boros – 9)
The Nottingham Wildcats reached the semi-finals of the WBBL Trophy this evening with a comfortable victory at home to the Durham Palatinates, while the Oaklands Wolves got their second win of the season as they won away against the Cardiff Met Archers.
The Wildcats started the evening off by racing into a five point lead at the end of the first quarter against the Palatinates, before making it a 21 point lead heading into half time, with a combined 22 points coming from Jasmine Joyner and Chelsey Shumpert in the half.
The duo ended up contributing 41 points for the Wildcats in total, as well as 16 rebounds, seven assists and six steals in what were two very dominant performances – with Joyner also making two huge blocks.
Claire Paxton had a good game for the visitors despite the scoreline, as she put up eight points and 11 rebounds as well as making three steals, a total only beaten in the entire game by the Palatinates leading scorer for the game Kara Elderkin, who managed four steals as well as ten points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile in Cardiff, the game was won by the Wolves thanks to a huge third quarter for them where they restricted the Archers to just seven points and they managed to score 16 – which the home team had no answer to in the final ten minutes.
Amari Carter and Louise Rouse dropped 13 and ten points respectively, but the most important stat-line for the Wolves was their steals total of ten compared to their opposition’s total of two – which ultimately was a crucial factor in them sealing the victory, with Beth Sarson leading the game in steals with four.
Archers center Mara Marchizotti grabbed the most rebounds out of any player in either of the games played today with 15, while Marlee Ball’s 13 point and eight rebound performance was also very impressive – but ultimately not enough for the hosts.