WBBL Cup Final
Leicester Riders 42-95 London Lions (15-24, 11-24, 9-25)
Riders – Squires 23, Arlen 8, O’Dwyer 5; Lions – Herbert Harrigan 19, Winterburn 16, Snytsina 14

The London Lions built a precise and gradual lead from start to finish of the WBBL Cup Final for a big 95-42 win over the Leicester Riders at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon.

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan paced London with 19 points and after starting quietly, homegrown talent Holly Winterburn added 16, which earned her Cup MVP honours as every Lions player got on the scoreboard. 

Oliana Squires showed no fear and managed a game-high 23 points for the Riders.

Lions captain Shanice Beckford-Norton praised her team’s defensive effort. She said: “We know what we can do defensively, and we just needed to switch that on today. Once we did that there was no stopping us after that.”

The Lions went on the attack from the opening tip, with Katsiaryna Snytsina hitting from deep to open the scoring.

Not to be outdone, Oliana Squires, who was fouled while shooting behind the arc. hit all three as both teams were pushing the tempo in the opening stages, rewarding the sold-out crowd in Utilita Arena for arriving early.

Snytsina doubled her points total with another three, but the Riders found McKenzie Johnston for a mid-range pull-up after advancing the ball quickly.

Herbert Harrigan stared down Leicester’s Ashley Arlen on the Riders after blocking her shot attempt, and a few moments later, she caught her opponents napping for an easy two for the Lions.

After the game, Arlen said: “I spoke to Azania and said ‘it’s a block part on Ashley today’ – I’ve never been blocked so much in a game.”

Squires has been a go-to player for the Riders all season, and when she got open above the break, she wasted little time pulling up for a good three to keep Leicester within reach at 11-8. On the next time down, she used her speed against the bigger Stewart, got fouled while attacking the rim without hesitation and sunk both free throws.

Fiona O’Dwyer kept the Riders’ scoreboard ticking over by sinking three out of four free throws in two successive possessions.

Recent addition to the Lions Leslie Vorphal wasted no time in getting on the board after checking into the game, and broke out in transition for a layup.

But the final punch in the first quarter went to Shanice Beckford-Norton, who, on an out-of-bounds play with six seconds to go, peeled around a screen on the right side, and pulled up from her spot to sunk a mid-range jumper to put the Lions up 24-15.

Snytsina showed she can do more than shoot threes and crossed the lane to score her first two-point field goal of the game to open the second quarter. Then, Vorpahl found the shooter from her preferred spot on the floor for three.

Kiki’s defence has been pivotal for the Lions all season, and she used her strength to force a Riders turnover – she then drove the ball into the teeth of the defence for a tough contested layup.

Squires had no plans to back down from the physical Lions defence and kept finding ways to the rim, and she used a quick first step to get a shot off beneath the basket.

But the continued physicality of London was holding Riders players back from driving through the lane, which helped build a 20-point lead for the  Lions with two minutes to go in the first half.

Picking up where they left off, the Lions forced the Riders to use all 24 seconds of their opening shotclock in the second half, and Stewart finished off the possession with a big block.

Holly Winterburn, who only managed three points in the first half, came out of the tunnel with a vengeance and attacked the rim – shaking her defender with a eurostep to lay in the ball. She then got open on the perimeter to score a three off a Stewart pass.

Snytsina continued her shooting from distance, and put the Lions up by 28 points with six minutes to go in the third before Arlen got a baseline drive to drop. London made it a 30-point gap with a pair of free throws from Ty Murray a minute later 30-60.

A change in defensive strategy saw the Riders double Shequila Joseph in the low block, but her size and strength turned away from the two defenders and passed the ball to Vorpahl at the top of the key, who found Battle cutting below the basket.

The Lions ran the same play for Joseph on the next time down, but Leicester’s double-team arrived late and she took it in for a layup of her own.

Full court pressure from the Lions used up the Riders’ shotclock and forced them into a well-defended three-point attempt. The long rebound fell to Vorpahl, who pushed the pace, and found Chantel Charles cutting along her right side for an easy layup to increase the lead to 38 to end the third frame.

Arlen attacked out of the break and got a layup to go, and the Riders set into a zone defence that stopped the Lions. Squires then hit a three to lift Leicester’s hopes with nine minutes left. 

The London side increased their defensive intensity to get back-to-back stops, and Winterburn continued her crafty play to get an open shot on an out-of-bounds play, followed by a fast-break layup to reach a 40-point  lead with five minutes left. 

Riders coach Krumesh Patel was disappointed after the game, but was looking forward to playing the Lions again in another big game soon. He said: “It makes me super determined – I wish we could play these kind of game every week.

“We know we can compete with them. We did in the first league game and hopefully we’ll catch them in the next league game… No streak lasts forever, and hopefully we can be the ones to end it.”

Make sure you don’t miss the next big WBBL game by CLICKING HERE.