WBBL Championship

London Lions 83-72 Sevenoaks Suns (24-14, 46-26, 67-46)

(Lions: Herbert Harrigan, 22; Joseph, 15; Battle, 13 – Suns: Busch, 25; Monakana, 16; Fritz, 14)

London Lions made it a double-winning weekend with an 83-72 victory over Sevenoaks Suns at the Copperbox Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Following their record-breaking win over Oaklands Wolves on Saturday, Lions came into their clash with confidence, but found the going tough against the Suns.

However a series of scoring runs from London put them into the ascendency, as they go 2-0 in the new WBBL Championship season.

Former WNBA standout, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan stood out, leading Lions with a fantastic double-double of 22 points, on 7/11 shooting and 12 rebounds.

Renee Busch led all scorers in vain for the Suns with 25 points.

The visitors were as bright as the sun to begin with as Sevenoaks went to the teeth of the Lions intimidating defensive core and found success at the foul line as a result.

Lions made some unforced errors, committing two quick turnovers, which was capitalised by an open three from Busch to give the Suns an 11-6 lead.

The champions though regrouped and after a stuttering first six minutes, began to play the up-tempo, sharp-passing Lions basketball, that fans are accustomed to seeing.

And their patience was rewarded with a mid-range jumper from Sweden international Paulina Hersler, handing London their first lead at 15-13 with 3:41 of the first left.

From there, London’s confidence grew and it outshone the Suns as they raced out on a 14-1 run to close the first period and lead 24-14.

From there, London forced Sevenoaks into turnovers, and turned them into points at the other end, aiming to blow the game open.

But the Suns were determined not to stay in the dark, remaining poised with smart team basketball, highlighted by a lay-up for Judit Fritz cut the deficit to 36-26 with two minutes left.

Lions, once again responded to end the half on a 9-0 run, capped off by a buzzer-beating triple from Kennedy Leonard to give London a 46-26 advantage.

The Suns fought on, looking to take chunks out of London’s lead but the Lions – now finding holes in Sevenoaks defence inside – led 67-46 heading into the final quarter.

It looked to be uphill for the visitors, but Busch wanted London to know her name, as she took it upon herself to hit five quick points, reducing the gap to 75-59 with six minutes left.

But as she has done so many times in her glittering, but still young career, Holly Winterburn ended Sevenoaks’ spell with a triple and despite a strong finish from the Suns, they couldn’t get closer than 11 points, achieved in the final seconds.

London Lions are in action next Sunday, as they host Durham Palatinates, with Sevenoaks at Oaklands, the day before. To catch all the action, head to the WBBL YouTube channel by clicking here.