WBBL Championship
Durham Palatinates 49-76 Sevenoaks Suns (10-20, 30-45, 39-64)
(Palatinates: Bautista/Wayne, 13; Hendershot, 9; Brault/Natufe, 4 – Suns: Fritz, 17; Busch, 14; Monakana, 11)
London Lions 113-56 Nottingham Wildcats (34-10, 57-17, 86-40)
(Lions: Winterburn, 25; Joseph, 14; Snytsina, 13 – Wildcats: Nicholas, 22; Stewart, 12; Ashton/Shaw, 8)
Caledonia Gladiators 65-57 Manchester Met Mystics (14-11, 33-27, 54-36)
(Gladiators: Handy, 16; McGarrachan/Wolf, 14; Kirsop/McGhee, 9 – Mystics: Keltos, 20; McMillan, 13; Akra, 9)
Essex Rebels 70-78 Sheffield Hatters (17-20, 43-39, 53-53)
(Rebels: Turner, 15; Freeman, 14; Kohlkaas, 12 – Hatters: Murphy/Naylor, 18; Fairley, 12; Whitehouse, 8)
Sevenoaks Suns began the day’s WBBL action with a convincing 76-49 win on the road in Durham.
Judit Fritz was a crucial component leading to the Sevenoaks’ victory on the attacking front, as she efficiently tallied 17 points while also committing four steals.
Julia Koppl’s defence also shone throughout the game, dominating the lanes to disallow Durham several opportunities at the basket. Koppl’s three blocks marked a game-high.
Sevenoaks started the game with an early shooting clinic provided by Renee Busch – the league’s leading three-point shooter – going 3/4 from beyond the arc.
Adding to the Suns’ arsenal of attacking options, playmaker Araion Bradshaw used an array of crisp passes resulting in easy layups for the visiting side, leading to a career-high 11 assists.
Durham fought hard to get past a solid Sevenoaks interior defence as they looked to Elle Hendershot to get them on the scoreboard. At the same time, Bautista took on shooting responsibilities from outside the perimeter, going 3/6 before halftime.
The second quarter saw Judit Fritz blossom on both ends of the court.
As well as forcing turnovers, Fritz began a scoring streak, missing only one shot in the first half on her way to 17 points.
The Suns took a 15-point lead heading into halftime as Durham struggled to contain Sevenoaks’ shooters, particularly Amba Thompson, who made back-to-back triples effortlessly.
An 11-0 run for Sevenoaks widened their advantage over Durham in the third quarter, as the Suns’ disciplined defence restricted the hosts to nine points as Fritz and Koppl clogged up the lanes.
Palatinates guard Jessica Wayne provided a burst of points as the hosts tried to get back into the contest.
Wayne finished with 13 points while putting in a determined shift on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds, cementing a double-double performance.
However, the Suns were able to round off a comfortable win improving their record to 5-3, marking their third consecutive victory.
In the second matchup of the day, the London Lions eased past Nottingham Wildcats 113-56 to hand them their second consecutive defeat of the season.
Despite six Lions players in double-figure scoring, guard Holly Winterburn proved the most prolific, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a block to complete a superb MVP performance.
Lions got off to a roaring start with a burst from Winterburn, who knocked down a three-point shot from the top of the arc before denying the Wildcats at the rim with a defying block.
Nottingham’s Brae Ashton and Mari Stewart responded with three-point efforts of their own.
After that, it was London that dominated the quarter. As well as lockdown defence from Chantel Charles and Taylor Murray, a collection of midrange conversions by Azania Stewart helped the Lions on their way to 21 consecutive points marking an emphatic scoring quarter.
Relentless scoring from the league leaders persisted in the second quarter, with the Lions going head by 40 at the midway point.
The visiting Wildcats responded in the third quarter, Kennedy Nicholas draining a pair of baskets to get back at a domineering Lions side.
Starting to edge from the basket, the Lions accumulated five three-pointers to pull away further from the Wildcats, including a buzzer-beater courtesy of Kennedy Leonard.
The final period saw Nicholas begin to convert on the attacking end, responsible for the visitors’ first eight points of the quarter.
Nevertheless, the Lions continued to take full advantage of the three-point line, converting an admirable 46% of three-point efforts.
Katsiaryna Snytsina’s consecutive three-pointers propelled the Lions past the 100-point mark as the champions added an eighth win to their undefeated league record.
Caledonia Gladiators added another win to their name with a narrow 65-57 victory against winless Manchester Met Mystics.
Chantelle Handy led all scorers for the hosts, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Abbie Wolf also proved critical to Caledonia’s slim win, bringing down ten rebounds combined with 14 points from inside the paint.
Despite a strong opening few minutes for the hosts, Manchester Met were motivated to turn the tide as Samantha Keltos – lead scorer for the Mystics – got the visitors’ first points on the board.
Keltos was at it again in the second quarter, opening with a perfect three-point shot to tie the game up.
Mystics turned up the heat, with McMillan’s three-pointer handing Manchester Met’s first lead in the contest.
Wolf was able to use her size and length to deal considerable damage to Manchester Met’s defence, as well as look to outside options such as Katrina Kirsop, who was primed and ready to knock down a deep-ranged effort.
In the third quarter, following a hotly contested first half, Caledonia were red hot out of the break, as Handy’s height and shooting prowess proved tricky to contain for the Mystics.
Putting in a valiant effort defensively, the Gladiators kept the visitors scoreless for nearly six minutes, illuminated by Erin McGarrachan’s steal spree.
Though Caledonia’s impressive third-quarter performance looked like the win was guaranteed, Manchester Met responded magnificently in the final period.
After finding themselves down 20, the Mystics began to run riot, tallying 12 consecutive points, with Vanessa Akra spearheading the charge converting shots clinically.
While scaring the home crowd into a potential upset, Manchester Met, unfortunately, fell short of a miraculous comeback, suffering their eighth defeat of the season, while Caledonia boasted back-to-back wins.
Sheffield Hatters edged past Essex Rebels 78-70 in Colchester in a thrilling battle that could have gone either way.
With a monster 18-point, 17-rebound showing from Hatters forward Karly Murphy, the Hatters swooped in for victory in the final quarter.
Starting fiercely, with an 11-2 start behind Murphy’s confident shooting underneath the basket, the visiting Hatters looked to steamroll Essex early on into the contest.
Ignited by an Andrea Kohlhaas three-point shot, the Rebels mounted a significant comeback, with Sune Swart and Tia Freeman working tirelessly to get the hosts back into the game.
Kohlhaas, with her second triple, just before the first-quarter buzzer sounded, reduced Sheffield’s advantage to just three.
Daniella Turner’s ability to quickly drive down to the basket provided numerous avenues to score, providing the hosts with their first game lead early in the second quarter.
Nicollette Fairley’s inside strength paved the way for the Hatters to nudge back at Essex as she took a few trips to the charity stripe.
But, Kohlhaas’ three-point production came up trumps again to sustain a slight advantage over the Hatters heading into the locker room.
Both sides worked endlessly in the third quarter to draw up a substantial lead.
Aside from Fairley and Murphy, the Hatters also used sharpshooters Abbey Whitehouse and Charli Wroe to knock down crucial three-pointers.
All tied up heading into the final quarter, back-and-forth action endured – Whitehouse’s three-point shot started things off in magnificent style.
A quick 8-0 run for Sheffield managed to widen the game in their favour, almost going up by double-digits.
Sheffield did a superb job contesting Essex’s three-point opportunities, guiding them to a narrow eight-point victory, marking their third win in a row.