Betty Codona WBBL Trophy Final
London Lions 81-70 Leicester Riders (22-12, 18-24, 23-17, 18-17)
Lions – Herbert Harrigan 33, Winters 18, Beckford-Norton 10; Riders – Arlen 22, Robb 17, O’Dwyer 13
Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan led the London Lions to a Betty Codona WBBL Trophy win over the Leicester Riders.
She put on a record-breaking performance to score a WBBL Trophy final record 33 points, which gave the team three consecutive wins in the competition and the Lions an 81-70 victory.
The Betty Codona WBBL Trophy Finals might have featured the same teams as the Cup Finals in January. However, the ways the Leicester Riders and London Lions reached the ultimate stage was very different.
In the single-game knockout stages, Leicester advanced past Oaklands Wolves, Caledonia Gladiators, and Newcastle Eagles.
Meanwhile, London beat WNBL team Brent Bulls, Cardiff Met Archers and B. Braun Sheffield Hatters on their way to the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.
Since the Cup Finals in January, Leicester had won six out of their last seven, and London were victorious in five out of their previous six.
Despite the familiar faces on the court for both teams, the Riders were hoping for a different result to the match-up earlier this year to stop the Lions from getting a Trophy three-peat.
The opening salvo saw mistakes from each team as they shook off some nerves, but Ty Murray opened the scoring on a transition layup for the Lions.
The Riders, however, came out focused on freeing up their perimeter scorers to take a 6-2 early lead on back-to-back threes.
Kiki Herbert Harrigan gave London a lead on a corner three, but Kirsty Brown responded with a runner off the glass for the Riders.
The Lions found success with Herbert-Harrigan in the post.
After being double-teamed, she found an open teammate and fought for the offensive rebound to muscle the ball back up for two.
The same play saw the WNBA-bound player kick it out to Shanice Beckford-Norton for an open three.
Kiki then went into business for herself from the post and drew a foul to hit one at the line.
Leicester’s Fiona O’Dwyer drove hard and hit a step-back mid-ranger to keep the Riders within five.
But in a nightmare finish to the opening ten minutes for Leicester, Battle scored on a play after the timeout, and Leicester turned the ball over, leading to a three on the buzzer from Herbert Harrigan, giving the Lions a 22-12 lead.
Ashley Arlen struggled in the Cup Finals a few months ago and told the media after the game “it was a block party on Ashley”, but she had no plans to let that happen again in the Trophy.
She received the ball on the low block in the second quarter and pivoted into a layup around her defender. She followed this with a three.
The Riders went to her again in the post and found a cutting McKenzie Johnston for a layup that rolled on every part of the rim before missing.
But Leicester caught the rebound and found Arlen, who hit the long two to bring her team within two points.
London slowed the momentum behind threes from Shequila Joseph and Holly Winterburn to push ahead by six, 32-24.
O’Dwyer continued her excellent play and hit a big three, but Herbert-Harrigan responded with a three of her own.
Scotland native Robb thieved the ball from a London passing lane, got out in transition, and nailed the contested layup. She also hustled for a loose ball destined to go out of bounds.
On the ensuing possession, Robb drove baseline to find an open Johnston for an open three to cut London’s lead to one. However, Winterburn hit another long-distance bomb to close the first half.
Arlen opened up the second half with the same aggression. She pump-faked her way into a mid-range shot to bring her team within one.
And Robb’s home nation exploded when she hit a three to push the Riders ahead.
Winterburn silenced the crowd with a three of her own, but Arlen retained the lead for Leicester with another off Johnston’s assist.
Robb was feeling it at this point, and despite great defence from London, she hit a huge contested three to tie.
This is when Winterburn warmed up. She got to the bucket for a layup, then rose up for a big three.
She then drew an offensive foul, which gave Herbert-Harrigan a shot to push London’s lead to seven, with an assist from – guess who – Winterburn.
Arlen’s good screen allowed her to seal her defender for a lob pass from Robb and get an easy two.
Herbert-Harrigan responded with a tough mid-range jump shot and Winterburn hit a huge shot from way above the three-point line.
The defensive intensity from London was starting to show as they forced a 24-second violation.
O’Dwyer stopped the bleeding with a turnaround mid-range jumper but Herbert-Harrigan’s sustained physicality kept building the Lions’ lead.
She got to the line while attacking Brown on the perimeter to sink two free throws, then closed out on the defensive end to emphatically block Jess Eadsforth-Yates’ three-point attempt.
This helped London take a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Robb kept fighting – physically for 50-50 balls against Beckford-Norton – and as a scorer. Her three was followed by a cutting layup to bring her team within seven.
She then got out in transition to finish ahead of the pack when Johnston kicked the ball ahead.
This forced the Lions into a timeout, and coach Stella Kaltsidou set up a scoring play for a cutting Ty Battle.
Battle kept pouring it on with two more layups before Herbert-Harrigan kept getting to the line, where she broke the Betty Codona Trophy Finals scoring record.
The Riders kept fighting, with scores from Oliana Squires, Johnston and Arlen down the stretch. But time was not on their side.
Battle and Murray for the Lions kept them at bay, and as the clock ticked away, they brought the Betty Codona Trophy back to London for the third year running.
It was a hard-fought victory and the Riders’ Hannah Robb told the WBBL’s John Hobbs: “It was great to be home, to be among friends and family, so it really was a sweet moment for me.
“We are disappointed with the loss. London are an amazing team. However, we can be proud of the performance we put in and we have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Herbert-Harrigan was in a celebratory mood after the game, but didn’t want her 33 points to be the main story.
She said: “Shout out to my teammates. Everybody contributes and everybody can step up when needed.
“I got the ball in good positions today and the ball was dropping. I’m proud of my team.”