WBBL Championship
Sheffield Hatters 89-52 Newcastle Eagles (14-23, 39-27, 66-34)
(Hatters: Hampton-Bey; 13, Whitehouse; 12, Niang; 12 – Eagles: Lewis; 19, Willis; 12, Fernandez Pardo; 10)
The Sheffield Hatters continued their undefeated run with a convincing victory over the Newcastle Eagles. Playing at home for the third time this season, the Hatters were led in scoring by Bre Hampton-Bey with 13 points and Abbey Whitehouse and Lena Niang with 12. For the Eagles, Antoinette Lewis led the way with 19 and Zoe Willis had 12.
The Eagles opened the game strong with six early points from Lewis. The Hatters meanwhile struggled to find any consistent scoring. A steal and score from Rachel Bland coupled with a three-pointer by Willis put the Eagles up by fifteen points in the opening three minutes.
A timeout by coach Vanessa Ellis saw the Hatters respond with two quick three pointers by Niang and Georgia Gayle. Yet the Eagles kept coming, Antoinette Lewis scoring consecutive baskets from the low post and blocking shots at the other end. At the end of the first quarter the Eagles led 23 – 14.
In the second quarter the undefeated Hatters began to take control of the game through excellent ball movement and precision passing; leading to scores from Niang and Charli Wroe.
The Hatters were locked in and effective on the defensive end, holding the Eagles to two points in the remaining seven minutes of the half. Hatters were led by Team GB international Nicolette Fairley, who is among the league leaders in steals (3 per game), as they began to separate themselves from the visiting Eagles.
In the third quarter, the Hatters added to their lead; a steal by Karly Murphy leading to a lay-up from Niang. A big three-pointer by captain Helen Naylor sparked an 11-2 run for the Hatters; who were in full-flow during the third quarter scoring 27 points to the Eagles seven.
A late 13-2 run for the Eagles came a little too late with the final score ending 89-52. Georgia Gayle was named MVP after finishing with six points and eight assists.
WBBL Championship
Caledonia Gladiators 65-68 Leicester Riders (26-21, 46-30, 54-48)
(Gladiators: Stasova; 16, Jones; 13, McGarrahan; 10 – Riders: Squires; 26, Robb; 11, Arlen/Johnston; 9)
In the second game of this Sunday’s WBBL action the undefeated Caledonia Gladiators hosted the Leicester Riders. The game was a back and forth affair with both teams showing excellent quality throughout.
The Gladiators found success in the first half through some impressive shooting from Chantelle Handy; who led all scorers with nine points on 3/3 shooting from three-point range. The home team Gladiators built a 16 point lead by the end of the second quarter; despite a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Riders’ Hannah Robb.
In the second half, the Riders progressively chipped away at the lead; consecutive three-pointers from Squires and lay-ups from Robb and Kirsty Brown cutting the lead down to single digits. A big three-pointer from Antoinette Lewis extended the Gladiators lead back to eight with two minutes left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter the Riders took their first lead of the game following a made free throw from Oliana Squires. Fans were on the edge of their seats as both teams fought to stay ahead.
With two minutes left in the game, the Riders clung to a narrow two point lead. Ashley Arlen came up with a huge offensive rebound, passing to Squires who drew the foul with forty seconds remaining. Squires calmly sunk the two free-throws to close out the game.
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