WBBL Championship

Durham Palatinates 58-60 Caledonia Pride (16-11, 33-29, 52-41, 58-60)
(Palatinates: E.Hendershot – 16, A.Lowe – 12, G. Hurtado Barbeito – 12; Pride: S.Phillips – 19, T.Edwards – 19, M.Ranger – 8)

Sheffield Hatters 55-69 Sevenoaks Suns (11-22, 26-43, 39-61, 55-69)
(Hatters: G.Gayle – 15, H.Naylor – 8, H.Shaw – 7; Suns: C.Carr – 20, J.Fritz – 11, R.Busch – 11)

Oaklands Wolves 56-110 London Lions (15-22, 30-60, 47-87, 56-110)
(Wolves: L.Harrison – 20, D.Porter – 12, B.Sarson – 8; Lions: J.Leedham-Warner – 21, C.Breen – 17, H.Winterburn – 13)

Cardiff Met Archers 49-70 Manchester Met Mystics (13-19, 24-32, 28-49, 49-70)
(Archers: S.Hatch – 14, L.Saiki – 14, S.Wagstaff – 6; Mystics: E.Williams – 25, D.Allen – 23, G.Jones – 10)

Essex Rebels 69-44 Newcastle Eagles (22-17, 38-19, 47-32, 69-44)
(Rebels: L.Costa – 13, A.Munns – 9, D.Waithe – 9; Eagles: M.Fernandez Pardo – 17, D.Cipcic – 12, M.McVicar – 10)

Four teams in the WBBL Championship earned impressive wins on the road today, with Essex Rebels the only team to get a victory in front of their home crowd, as the race for the Play-Offs heats up.

Caledonia Pride were the first team to take away two points, after making a superb fourth quarter comeback to edge past Durham Palatinates.

After being down 11 with just ten minutes to go, the Scottish team showed great determination and attitude to get back into the tie and hold on for victory, with Taylor Edwards in red-hot form as she dropped a joint game-high with teammate Sian Phillips of 19 points, along with contributing eight rebounds and seven assists.

Palatinates guard Elle Hendershot came even closer to a triple-double, after dropping team highs of 16 points and seven assists, as well as grabbing 14 rebounds – but her and her teammates’ efforts were in vein, with the Pride celebrating on the final buzzer.

Meanwhile, Sevenoaks Suns held their nerve to breeze past high-flying Sheffield Hatters and remain undefeated in the Championship.

The visitors were led by captain Cat Carr, who put up 20 points, going 71% from two point range, while Frankie Wurtz and Julia Koppl grabbed 28 rebounds between them.

Hatters guard Georgia Gayle dropped a team-high of 15 points, including three-made three-pointers, but she was the only player on the home-team to drop double-digits, as they struggled to make shots – largely thanks to the Suns’ great defence.

Elsewhere, London Lions dominated Oaklands Wolves, racing into a 30-point lead at half-time thanks to a brilliant team-performance which saw the ball shared around across the roster and every player playing a significant part.

Joey Leedham-Warner put up a game-high of 21 points, while Cassie Breen added 17 – three points less than Wolves guard Lizzy Harrison who contributed 20 for her team.

It was in fact a close start between the two teams, with Oaklands taking an 11-7 lead – but by the five minute mark in the first quarter, the Lions took control by raising their defensive intensity and consistently making their shots.

In Wales, Manchester Met Mystics defeated Cardiff Met Archers, after making 40% of their shots and limiting their opponents to making just 29%.

Erika Williams put up the highest individual total in the entire league today of 25 points, with her Mystics teammate Dominique Allen putting up the second highest with 23 – along with 11 rebounds to complete a brilliant double-double performance.

Archers captain Shannon Hatch also completed a double-double, as she dropped 14 points along with ten rebounds, while Lauren Saiki matched her points total.

In the final game of the evening, Essex Rebels breezed past Newcastle Eagles, who had just three players score more than three points as the home team played some excellent defence throughout.

Lucrezia Costa scored a team-high of 13 points in just 19 minutes of game-time, while DeAngelique Waithe also played an important part despite playing less than 20 minutes – with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Eagles captain Marina Fernandez-Pardo did her best to try and get her team some kind of momentum from the field, as she scored a game-high total of 17 points, while Maddy McVicar and Dora Cipcic were the only other two players on the visitors team to score a significant total, dropping ten and 12 respectively.