WBBL Championship
Essex Rebels 80-96 London Lions (16-29, 42-50, 58-73, 80-96)
(Rebels: L.Costa – 20, D.Waithe – 16, A.Kohlhaas – 16; Lions – S.Beckford-Norton – 27, C.Charles – 18, C.Breen – 14)
WBBL Championship
Newcastle Eagles 91-89 Oaklands Wolves (26-27, 44-55, 68-67, 91-89)
(Eagles: M.McVicar – 30, A.Gorrell – 27, A.Lowe – 20; Wolves: D.Boros – 21, M.Emanuel-Carr – 19, G.Uprus – 18)
WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 88-50 Nottingham Wildcats (17-13, 43-19, 65-40, 88-50)
(Riders: H.Winterburn – 21, H.Robb – 21, M.Brewer – 15; Wildcats: S.Costa – 13, M.Lundqvist – 10, P.Egharevba – 10)
WBBL Championship
Cardiff Met Archers 49-77 Sevenoaks Suns (11-29, 33-49, 44-71, 49-77)
(Archers: C.Bigica – 14, M.Ball – 13, R.Lewis – 9; Suns: C.Carr – 25, J.Monakana – 15, T.Clark – 9)
All of the teams in the top three comfortably won this afternoon as the race to finish at the top of the standings heats up, while Newcastle Eagles put more space between them and opponents Oaklands Wolves in the standings after edging them at home by two points in a thriller.
London Lions were the first team to win today, as a professional performance led by captain Shanice Beckford-Norton and her impressive tally of 27 points helped stop Essex Rebels in their tracks at the Essex Sports Arena.
All five of the Lions starters scored 12 or more points, and Kennedy Leonard managed another double-double as she made 13 assists as well as scoring 12, going 80% with her two-point attempts, while young forward Valentina Klocker led the team in rebounds, grabbing seven after starting on the bench.
Lucrezia Costa had a fantastic afternoon despite her team losing out, as she scored 20 points for the Rebels as well as grabbing a huge 16 rebounds, setting up her teammates for buckets six times and drawing fouls on six occasions too in what was a superb outing, while DeAngelique Waithe impressed too, scoring 16 from odd the bench.
In Newcastle, the Eagles and the Wolves faced off in a 7th vs 8th clash with Oaklands behind by two points but with three games in hand – before they were beaten by just two points as Alison Gorrell and Jorjah Smith held their nerves in the final 20 seconds, with each player scoring to turn the scoreline around.
Gorrell played all 40 minutes, and dropped a double-double performance made up of 27 points and 12 rebounds, as she came just two assists a way from making it a triple-double, while Maddy McVicar was on form as well as she lead the game in scoring with 30 and Abigail Lowe also impressed as she scored 20 for the Eagles.
Dorka Boros was a shining light for the Wolves and was an integral part in helping them push the Eagles all the way as she scored 21 points from the bench in just under 25 minutes of game time, as Melita Emanuel-Carr and Greeta Uprus put up a combined 37 points and 19 rebounds, with Emanuel-Carr getting a double-double.
As the Eagles won their 6th game of the season, the Leicester Riders won their 14th, beating Nottingham Wildcats 88-50, and they remained in control from the second quarter on-wards as they put 24 points between them and their opposition by half-time, and they didn’t lose either of the quarters in the second-half either.
Holly Winterburn came close to getting a triple-double, as she contributed 8 rebounds, seven assists and four steals along with 21 points, as Hannah Robb reached the same tally of points but in just under 26 minutes of game time and Maya Brewer put up 15 from off the bench.
The Wildcats, who are still without Jasmine Joyner, were led by Simone Costa who scored 13 points, with Moa Lundqvist and Praise Egharevba following just behind with ten, but the Wildcats will be disappointed as they shot 31% from the field as a team.
The Sevenoaks Suns picked up a victory too in the final game of the day, as they comfortably beat the Cardiff Met Archers to remain the only team in the WBBL to have a flawless record in the Championship, and extend their stay at the summit of the standings.
Catherine Carr put in an incredible triple-double for the Suns, scoring 25 points, going 76% from the field, and grabbing ten rebounds as well as setting up her teammates for a bucket on ten occasions as she continues to show everyone why she is a serious candidate for the season MVP, while Janice Monakana scored 15 off the bench in another impressive performance.
Archers forward Cristina Bigica and guard Marlee Ball played 22 minutes and 27 minutes respectively, but they led the scoring for their team as they scored a combined total of 27 points – more than 55% of their team’s overall tally, and they also both remained above 50% for field goal percentage.