In two regular season performances, at the Cup Finals in Birmingham, and at the Trophy Final in Scotland, the London Lions have had the Leicester Riders’ number in the Women’s British Basketball League.
But the Play-off Final offers the Riders one last chance to grab a win over the Lions at The O2 in London on Sunday – and they might just do it.
What is different this time?
The Lions picked up a 16-point and a 24-point win during the Championship, a massive 43-point victory at the first contest for silverware, and more recently, the Lions held on to a nine-point gap late for a clean sweep in the Trophy.
We’ve even seen other teams give London competitive games, while Leicester have struggled. But this is partly down to match-ups.
The pacey, flowing motion of the league’s third best offence in Leicester has been led by All-WBBL player Ashley Arlen and wing scorer Oliana Squires.
The Lions, therefore, made sure to focus their entire defence on shutting at least one of those two down in the different games. They used size, speed and strength of key players, such as Mikiah Herbert Harrigan across multiple positions at different times.
Herbert Harrigan averaged 18.6 points per game in the regular season – second best in the league – but she earned the nickname Mad Kiki in college because of her ferocity on defence. At the Cup Final, she blocked Arlen multiple times, and her 33 points in the Trophy helped her team late in the win.
The problem for London going into the Play-off Final? Herbert Harrigan is no longer there as she made herself available for WNBA training camp, which means the Lions are without their best scorer, top shot blocker and second best rebounder.
The Lions are still dangerous, but the roster might be playing slightly out of position without the versatility Herbert Harrigan offers.
Match-ups
If the last game of the regular season is anything to go by, Ty Battle could start in Herbert Harrigan’s absence, and she is capable of doing enough as an athletic, defensive force on the perimeter. But there was less rim protection for London than we’d seen throughout the year – they recorded just one block when they typically swat closer to four per game.
This might play into the Leicester Riders’ strengths, who previously struggled to get much scoring in the paint and relied on outside shooting to stay close to the Lions in the Trophy Final.
The treble champs can still start with length and hustle on the perimeter:
Position | Leicester | London
Guard | McKenzie Johnston | Taylor Murray
Guard | Hannah Robb | Holly Winterburn
Forward | Oliana Squires | Ty Battle
Forward | Ashley Arlen | Katsiaryna Snytstina
Centre | Kirsty Brown | Azania Stewart
At the point guard position, McKenzie Johnston is one of the best passers in the league, but her size means she sometimes struggles against bigger physical guards – Taylor Murray and her back-up Shanice Beckford-Norton were named to the Defensive Team of the Year thanks to their strength and intensity.
Hannah Robb is a great shooter for Leicester, and would lead the league in heart if it were a recordable stat, but Holly Winterburn has flirted with being the MVP this year.
Oliana Squires had some great success against the Lions, scoring 23 points at the Cup Final and 17 in an early contest, but at the second regular season meet and the Trophy Final, they focused on shutting her out of the games. Ty Battle’s physicality will help slow her down, but if Squires goes in to the game with confidence, the Riders guard-forward can glide through the lane and fill it up from distance.
Kat Snytsina is a legend in European basketball, and despite being at the tail end of her career, she is still one of the best shooters from distance. She is a natural guard-forward, and while she has enough craft and guile to defend inside, Snytsina will have her hands full with Ashley Arlen, who can score from anywhere, especially inside.
The all-GB battle of the bigs sees Kirsty Brown go up against Azania Stewart, in what is likely to be her final game as a professional. Brown can definitely hustle hard, rebound well, and hit a mid-range jumper that will keep her opponent honest. But veteran Stewart will leave everything on the court.
Fiona O’Dwyer, Emma Fee and Jess Eadsforth-Yates have been the main role players for the Riders, but coach Krumesh Patel has leaned heavily on his leading rotation. Meanwhile, the Lions have gone deeper into their bench while playing in domestic and European competition, so will have more bodies ready to play big minutes if required, such as Leslie Vorpahl, Shequila Joseph, Chantel Charles and Paige Robinson.
What to expect
The London Lions have been able to roll the ball out and largely rely on talent in recent years. They have had an excellent foundation with great coaching in recent seasons. Since Stella Kaltsidou took over the clipboard half way through this season, there have been some bumps in the road while implementing a new system, and the offence has looked slower to get up the court and set up possessions. But the defence has remained a focus – and you can’t argue with a Trophy win, a Championship win, and now heading into the Play-off Final looking for a quadruple.
Leicester will run their offence through Ashley Arlen, who can score inside and out while being a scorer and a facilitator, but to stand a chance, they will need great games from all the role players, while getting McKenzie Johnston, Oliana Squires and Hannah Robb pushing the pace for as many easy points as possible.
It is the Riders’ last chance to pick up a win over the Lions, and London will not want this to be a disappointing end to an incredible two-year run, which will close the career on an all-time great in Azania Stewart.
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