WBBL Cup, semi-final

 Sevenoaks Suns 69-84 London Lions (14-13, 31-43, 51-71)
(Suns: Busch, 17; Monakana/Bradshaw, 14; Fritz/Koppl, 9 — Lions: Herbert Harrigan, 15; Snytsina, 14; Beckford-Norton, 10)

Leicester Riders 83-69 Essex Rebels (24-16, 39-37, 59-57)
(Riders: Robb, 17; Fee, 15; Arlen, 14 — Rebels: Paxton, 19; Kohlhass, 14; Freeman/Turner, 10)

London Lions and Leicester Riders will contest the first piece of silverware this season after coming through their respective semi-final tests on Sunday.

London Lions overcame a poor start to overcome Sevenoaks Suns 84-69 at Surrey Sports Park.

Trailing after the first quarter, London managed to outscore the Suns 30-17, proving to be the beginning of what ended up being a good day’s work.

Kiki Herbert Harrigan led the winners with 15 points and seven rebounds, helped along by Katsiaryna Snytsina, as the Belarusian had 14.

Renee Busch led all scorers in defeat with 17 points for Sevenoaks.

With London playing their third game since Thursday and Sevenoaks returning from a long road trip to Durham on Saturday, it was to be expected that both teams were a little sluggish to start.

The Suns got their groove going immediately, starting on a 7-0 run, while the Lions struggled, missing their first five field goal attempts.

The visitors eventually got on the board following a timeout from Mark Clark with two scores, which was answered by a three from Monakana to give her side a 10-4 lead.

The Lions, though, strung some solid offences together and only trailed by one after the first quarter.

Successive scores from the foul line gave London their first lead of the game at 17-16, which grew to 22-17 thanks to inside scores from Herbert Harrigan and Shanice Beckford-Norton.

But once more, Monakana answered with a three-pointer as the pace of the game quickened and the physicality intensified with London, the primary recipient going to the foul line six times in the quarter.

The Lions made their free throws count as they took a comfortable lead, added by a three-pointer on the half-time buzzer by Snytsina, that gave the Cup holders a 43-31 cushion.

The Lions extended their advantage to start the third as Herbert Harrigan hit their first six points of the quarter. Renee Busch put in a transition three, but London found their rhythm.

A three from Kennedy Leonard gave the visitors a 58-38 lead with just under six minutes left in the third, as Sevenoaks were guilty of not executing on the offensive end.

But true to their nature, the Suns responded with a 6-0 run, only to be answered by five quickfire points by Snytsina as London continued their stranglehold on proceedings.

Sevenoaks did manage to narrow the gap to as little as 15 points with 3:48 remaining thanks to a three from Araion Bradshaw, who had 14 points overall, but London eased to a second consecutive WBBL Cup final appearance.

Leicester Riders will join London Lions in the first WBBL showpiece this season as they won a hard-fought encounter 83-69 against the Essex Rebels.

Great Britain international Hannah Robb steered the Riders to Birmingham as she hit four triples, ending with a team-high 17 points and five boards.

Emma Fee had 15, Ashley Arlen added 14, with Molly Johnston posting a double-double of 11 points and 12 assists for Leicester.

Claire Paxton was sublime with 19 points and eight rebounds, but the Rebels bow out.

Essex started confidently, especially from downtown, as Sune Swart and Tia Freeman connected for an early 8-4 lead.

But Leicester recovered from an inconsistent opening three minutes as they sprinted to a 13-0 run to lead 24-16 after the first.

Paxton would snap the Riders’ run on their first possession of the second as she drained a triple, only to be answered by solid inside play from Arlen for back-to-back scores.

The second was cagey but reasonably even as both sides jostled for position, and it was Fiona O’Dywer, who came off the bench to create some separation, as she scored five points in the period to guide the hosts to a slender 39-37 lead at the half.

Consecutive scores from Kirsty Brown and Arlen gave the Riders a six-point lead, only for Paxton – the Rebels’ main offensive threat – to hit a three in a fast-paced start to the third.

However, every time the Riders went on a run, the resilient Rebels would counter with a spurt of their own.

Having trailed for the majority of the third, they tied the game at 57-57 with 1:17 left, thanks to a lay-up from Megan Haines.

Riders, through Fee, kept the lead heading into the final ten minutes and from there, Leicester would make their big move.

A 10-0 run from the hosts gave them a 69-57 cushion, as they held Essex scoreless for nearly five minutes before a turnaround jumper from Swart opened the lid on their basket.

That run proved to be one hurdle too much for Essex as that game-changer was Leicester’s ticket to Birmingham on Sunday, 29 January.

And you can book your tickets to see the first two bits of silverware lifted HERE.