WBBL Championship
Essex Rebels 74-72 Oaklands Wolves (15-21, 40-38, 59-60, 74-72)
(Rebels: D.Waithe – 18, L.Costa – 15, C.Bieg Salazar – 14; Wolves: A.Carter – 30, G.Uprus – 17, L.Rouse – 8)
WBBL Championship
Newcastle Eagles 75-59 Nottingham Wildcats (17-20, 33-39, 55-51, 75-59)
(Eagles: A.Gorrell – 29, A.Lowe – 21, M.McVicar – 14; Wildcats: C.Shumpert – 16, S.Prior – 13, J.Joyner – 12)
WBBL Championship
BA London Lions 84-72 Durham Palatinates (28-13, 44-38, 66-52, 84-72)
(Lions: C.Breen – 22, K.Leonard – 20, S.Beckford-Norton – 11; K.Elderkin – 21, C.Paxton – 20, K.Bennett – 11
The BA London Lions moved to the top of the standings this afternoon in the WBBL Championship thanks to a hard-fought victory against the Durham Palatinates, while the Essex Rebels edged out the Oaklands Wolves and the Newcastle Eagles won comfortably against the Nottingham Wildcats.
The Rebels and the Wolves were the first teams to tip-off and they were neck-and-neck all the way through the game in what was like a chess match where both teams seemed to had an answer for each and every move – but ultimately DeAngelique Waithe and Carla Bieg Salazar managed to hold their nerves under pressure and convert their free-throws to come from behind and win the game with nine seconds left.
Waithe and Bieg Salazar scored a combined 32 points for the Rebels, but it was Lucrezia Costa’s enormous 15 points, 19 rebounds double-double defensive masterclass of a performance that really caught the eye, while Ashleigh Munns made five steals, grabbed six rebounds and added 11 points – not missing a minute of action.
Amari Carter was the best performer on the Wolves team, scoring 30 points, while Greeta Uprus also put in a double-double performance for her team, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, a total for the visitors only topped by forward Lauren Milligan who contributed 12 rebounds.
The Eagles were the next team to get a victory in the afternoon, after enjoying a dominant second half where they outscored the Wildcats by 22 points, despite trailing to the visitors by six points at half-time.
The home side were far more efficient, scoring 41% of their attempts compared to the Wildcats’ 28%, and that helped the Eagles forward Alison Gornell on her way to a giant double-double performance, in which she dropped 29 points and 11 rebounds, while her teammate Abigail Lowe also joined her in the 20+ club, scoring 21 points.
Jasmine Joyner also joined Gornell in getting a double-double, after putting up 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats with a 50% field goal percentage, while Chelsey Shumpert and Siobhan Prior were the only other Wildcats to reach double figures for scoring, contributing 16 and 13 points respectively.
The Lions closed out the day with what looked like on paper a comfortable victory of their own, but the reality was there were moments mid-way through the final quarter where the Palatinates looked like they were clawing their way back – but ten points from Kennedy Leonard in the final five minutes of the game made sure the home side would go top of the table.
Leonard came agonisingly close to a triple-double, putting up 20 points, nine rebounds and an incredible 16 assists in what was one of the performances of the season, while Cassie Breen contributed 22 points for the Lions and Shanice Beckford-Norton and Stephanie Umeh both also reached double-digits for scoring, adding 11 and 10 respectively.
Claire Paxton was one of the sparks for the Palatinates who are in search of their first win of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in another brilliant double-double performance, while Kara Elderkin also impressed, dropping 21 points as she went 61% from the field.