WBBL Championship
Oaklands Wolves 23-114 London Lions (3-24, 13-53, 15-87)
(Wolves: Carrasco-Menendez, 10; D. Porter, 8; Karasaite/Lewis-Gayle, 2 — Lions: Battle, 22; Hersler, 15; Herbert Harrigan, 14)

WBBL Championship
Manchester Met Mystics 60-74 Cardiff Met Archers (13-22, 27-39, 41-63)
(Mystics: Niehues, 17; Mcderment, 14; Akra, 10 — Archers: Hatch, 22; Saiki, 15; Bunyan, 9)

WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 82-50 Essex Rebels (26-16, 44-22, 67-36)
(Riders: Arlen, 25; Squires, 16; Robb, 13 – Rebels: Freeman, 12; Kohlhaas, 10; Paxton/Naessens, 8)

London Lions began their title defence in record-breaking fashion with a 114-23 win over Oaklands Wolves in St Albans on Saturday.

Not only was this London’s biggest ever road win, but it equalled the largest away winning margin in the WBBL, set by Sheffield Hatters’ 91-point success to Leeds Becket in February 2015.

As Lions’ unbeaten run stretches now to 514 days, this latest victory also saw a WBBL-record eight players registering in double figures for scoring, fronted by Ty Battle’s 22-point, 11-rebound double-double.

And it all stemmed from a 17-0 start to the game, where London overpowered Oaklands from the beginning.

A lay-up from Wales international, Daisy Porter got Oaklands up and running after nearly eight minutes of the first quarter played, but for the young hosts, they faced an uphill battle against the experienced Lions, trailing 24-3.

Seven points from Paulina Hersler and six from Mikiah Herbert-Harrington extended London’s lead to 37-7 with 4:54 remaining in the second, as they showed no mercy to their academy-based opposition.

But Oaklands showed fight, Porter steered them to double digits with just over a minute left in the half. However, London’s first half prowess of 13 transition points culminating in 50% shooting, gave them a 40-point cushion at the break.

A further 18-0 run from the Lions ballooned the lead to 58 points in the third, eventually peaking – and concluding – at 91 points, two shy of the biggest winning margin in the WBBL, again set by Sheffield Hatters on 18 October 2014.

Miriam Carrasco-Menendez led Oaklands with 10 points.

Up in the north-west, Cardiff Met Archers began their campaign with a 74-60 win over Manchester Met Mystics at the National Basketball Performance Centre.

Keen to bounce back after missing the Play-offs last season, Archers started on a high as a 12-2 burst to start the third along with them hitting ten triples, propelled them to victory.

Shannon Hatch paced the victors with a game-high 22 points, shooting 56% from the field, supported by 15 from floor general, Lauren Siaki.

“Always a good start when it’s a road trip, still plenty of things to work on but super proud of how we came out,” said Cardiff coach Stef Collins afterward.

“For us today and how we want to play, it was really key that we want to push the tempo. And that’s not only transition offence but also defensively as well and both were vital to this win.

“There was great energy, that was positive and everyone contributed. Really happy to get that first win.”

Energetic and organised to start, Cardiff forced the Mystics into difficult shots and capitalised on them with deadeye shooting, hitting four of their first six from three-point land.

The Archers found success inside as well, highlighted by a sublime pass from Saiki who found Great Britain junior international, Carys Roy for the easy score to give the visitors a 22-13 advantage.

The visitors’ accuracy from outside continued in the second as a triple from Laura Shanahan extended Cardiff’s lead to double digits, leaving Manchester struggling from the field.

Enter Leah McDerment, as she scored seven straight points, igniting the Mystics towards the end of the half and giving them confidence heading into the third.

But it wasn’t meant to be, Archers pulled down four offensive boards in that game-changing run to take a 63-41 lead after three and despite a spirited fourth period from the hosts, the visitors returned to the Welsh capital with a win.

Abby Niehues led Mystics with 17 points and nine rebounds.

 

The final game on Saturday saw Leicester Riders defeat Essex Rebels 82-50 at Loughborough University.

Ashley Arlen led the Riders with a solid double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, ably supported by Oliana Squires’ 16.

Tia Freeman led Rebels with 12 points.

A mixture of suffocating defence inside and a 9-0 run from Leicester, capped off by an open triple from American McKenzie Johnston handed the hosts a 17-4 cushion with four minutes of the first played.

Essex though battled on and eventually found success in their back-door cuts ending in easy finishes. But Riders enjoyed a ten-point lead after the first.

Looking to start the second brightly, a three from Ashleigh Munns reduced the deficit to 26-19 and in the first two minutes, Rebels showed promise.

Leicester though, regrouped and a 14-1 run strengthened their grip on the lead towards half-time with a lay-up by Kirsty Brown giving them a 44-22 advantage.

The break in play didn’t slow the Riders down in the third, and back-to-back triples from Arlen and Squires extended the lead to 54-26 and ultimately ended the game as a contest.

There is one game in the WBBL tomorrow (Sunday) and it sees the anticipated rematch of last season’s Trophy and Play-off Final as London Lions host Sevenoaks Suns. You can catch all the action, starting at 2pm on YouTube, click here.