WBBL Championship

 London Lions 133-75 Cardiff Met Archers (42-10, 75-38, 110-54)
(Lions: Herbert Harrigan, 31; Winterburn, 24; Beckford-Norton, 14 — Archers: Saiki, 19; Hatch, 17; Bunyan, 7)

WBBL Championship

Caledonia Gladiators 59-56 Durham Palatinates (19-14, 33-22, 46-39
(Gladiators: McGarrachan, 18; Wolf, 17; Lewis, 13 — Palatinates: Ottewill-Soulsby, 15; Wayne, 14; Chukwu-Etu/Hendershot, 8)

London Lions bounced back from their first loss in two years with a record-breaking 133-75 win over Cardiff Met Archers at the CopperBox Arena on Sunday afternoon.

In unfamiliar territory, having to rebound from their first loss in 52 games, coming against Caledonia Gladiators, London responded emphatically by hitting their first 11 shots, with six of those coming from three, leading 42-10 after the first.

From there, Lions won and broke the previous highest WBBL Championship score of 132 set by the Sheffield Hatters in January 2015, along with their own personal best of 123 against the Newcastle Eagles back in January.

Connecticut Sun-bound Kiki Herbert Harrigan exploded for a game-high 31 points in just 18 minutes of action for Lions. Holly Winterburn added 24 as the duo combined for an incredible 19/24 from the field.

Lauren Saiki paced Cardiff with 19 points on 54% shooting.

Lions made their intentions known from the opening tip as Winterburn scored in the first three seconds.

That followed three straight three-pointers from the hosts, with two of those coming from Katsiaryna Snytsina to give London a 13-3 lead, forcing Stef Collins to call a timeout.

Snytsina kept London’s accuracy from downtown going with a corner three as their relentless offensive game was reminiscent of playing NBA 2K on beginner mode as every possession seemed to end with a score.

Shooting a remarkable 16/20 from the field after one, it was a statement made in just ten minutes of action for the hosts.

With pride and respect to play for, along with a potential future playoff game against the Lions, Cardiff showed promise as Lauren Saiki connected as they attacked the Lions’ front line in the opening minutes.

Shannon Hatch also connected on an elbow jumper along with a corner three to keep the Archers’ score ticking and force a shot clock violation.

But the Lions kept the fire burning as back-to-back jumpers from Herbert Harrigan extended London’s cushion to 59-24, midway through the second.

And Herbert Harrigan continued her hot streak from deep, hitting from the top, her fourth at this point, giving the hosts a 66-29 cushion.

Despite the massive deficit, Cardiff vastly improved in the second, getting good looks and reducing London’s second-chance opportunities, however, they trailed 75-38 at the half.

It brought an end to the first half where the first quarter alone ended the game as a contest. London shot an eye-watering 68% from the field, which included going 14/23 from three-point land as they bounced back from last week’s loss against in record-breaking fashion.

Returning home following last Sunday’s historic win, the Caledonia Gladiators built on that momentum with a 59-56 victory over Durham Palatinates at Emirates Arena.

However, like last Sunday, the Scottish side were made to work hard and sweat to secure the win. Durham’s Orieoma Chukwu-Etu scored inside with 9.1 seconds left to reduce the gap to 58-56.

But Caledonia remained calm, and saw the game out from the foul line, as Jess Wayne missed a heavily contested three-pointer as time expired.

Erin McGarrachan led the winners with 18 points and seven rebounds in the win, Abbie Wolf was a rebound-shy of a double-double with 17 and nine boards.

“It was a tough game,” said Gladiators’ Chantelle Handy.

“We went up to Durham and got beat by Durham, so we knew it was going to be a tough game regardless of how we play or how they play.

“We knew it would be a back-and-forth battle and it wasn’t our best game, we we were a little tired but that’s no excuse and at the end of the day, we got it done.”

Harriett Ottewill-Soulsby led Durham with 15 points.

Durham hit the first two field goals of the game as the hosts started sloppy, missing their first four field goal attempts.

McGarrachan got the Gladiators off the mark with more than two minutes of the first played and with 4:43 remaining in the period, they got their first lead of the game at 9-8 with a three from Robyn Lewis.

From there, Caledonia managed to maintain their slender advantage heading into the second quarter, where they started to create space between them and Durham.

Another three from Lewis – who went 3/3 from deep in the first half – extended Caledonia’s lead to 30-20 with 4:39 of the half remaining as their lead peaked at 13 points en route to a 33-22 cushion at the break.

However, Durham started the third with a 7-0 run to narrow the gap to 33-29 before great ball movement from the hosts was rewarded with a score under the basket from McGarrachan with three minutes of the quarter played.

But Durham, determined and gritty, were rewarded for their patience as Wayne tied the game at 35-35 with a nice up-and-under lay-up with 3:42 remaining in the third.

However, Durham’s major Achilles heal was at the foul line as they squandered chances to take the lead. At the time they were tied at 35-35, they were just 3/10 from the free throw line, 7/15 overall.

And the Gladiators made them pay with back-to-back scores from McGarrachan that set the tone for a 46-39 lead after three.

And captain fantastic, McGarrachan extended the lead to nine with the opening score of the final quarter with Chantelle Handy draining her first points of the game from three-point land to give Caledonia a 51-41 cushion.

Durham, fighting for everything at both ends, did keep things interesting, led by Wayne and Elle Hendershot as they reduced the gap to 53-50 with 4:20 remaining.

It was nervy for the 375 inside the Emirates Arena, but the Gladiators came away with the win.

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