London Lions 140-42 Nottingham Wildcats

London Lions starting five: Juicy Landrum, Holly Winterburn, Megan Gustafson, Temi Fagbenle, Karlie Samuelson

Nottingham Wildcats starting five: Abbey Whitehouse, Jocie Leavold, Mari Stewart, Jessica Wayne, Brooke Bjelko

London Lions scored the highest points ever in a Women’s British Basketball League game and secured the largest ever winning margin in their emphatic 140-42 win over the Nottingham Wildcats at the Copper Box.

With this victory, the Lions remain undefeated and move top of the League on a record of 5-0, while the Wildcats are still chasing their first win of the season, falling to 0-7. 

First Half

London started the game in the best way possible after Karlie Samuelson drained a three and was fouled – converting for the four-point play.

It was clear that the hosts wanted to push the ball and they rushed to a 9-0 run at the onset, after Holly Winterburn hit a triple on the transition.

The Lions kept increasing their lead after Samuelson converted from downtown on two consecutive plays (19-2).

A couple of beautiful post moves, first by Megan Gustafson and then by Katsiaryna Snytsina, gave London their first 20-point lead (26-5).

A pair of corner threes, first by Shanice Beckford-Norton and then by Snytsina closed out the first quarter with the hosts ahead by 28 points (38-10).

The second quarter started in similar fashion to the first, with the Lions continuing to impress behind the arc, shooting an incredible 72%.

That, coupled with their tenacious defence, helped increase their lead.

It was evident they wanted to pressure Nottingham full-court, trying to force turnovers on the half-court line.

An example of that was when Abby Meyers made a layup and then Ivana Katanic stole the ball off the inbound which led to a triple by Snytsina (46-10).

The hosts continued their impressive run, hitting a bunch of threes, with the majority of them from the corner.

Winterburn drove hard towards the basket, faked the pass and finished with the right for the easy two, capping off an incredible 28-0 run (56-10).

A three from Mari Stewart ended the Lions’ run and gave the Wildcats their first points of the quarter.

As the half was drawing to a close, London kept increasing their lead.

Winterburn went coast-to-coast before finding a wide open Gustafson under the basket who made it 69-15.

For the final play of the half, Juicy Landrum waited until the final seconds before taking the screen and attacking the basket, finishing with the left hand layup (75-17).

Second Half

The third quarter saw the Wildcats hit a couple of threes in the first minutes, first with Stewart and then with Valerie Cassidy De Falco (84-23).

That couldn’t turn the tide however and the Lions continued their offensive masterclass.

Winterburn produced a beautiful highlight for the home fans when she crossed her defender and laid the ball in with a finger roll (86-23).

Samuelson then took over the offensive load, hitting two consecutive triples, while getting fouled on the second one for her second four-point play of the game (96-23).

The Team GB guard was on fire and shot a perfect 7/7 from the three-point line, in a display that even Steph Curry would be jealous of. 

The Lions just kept hitting threes as the quarter progressed, first with Snytsina, then two consecutive ones by Meyers (110-28), who also lit it up from downtown with 7/9 from behind the arc.

The Golden State Warriors may have the splash bros but the London Lions have the splash sisters as Samuelson and Meyers hit a combined 14/16 threes.

The final period was Nottingham’s best, scoring a game-high 13 points and keeping their opponents to a game-low 28.

That didn’t stop the Lions from moving the ball really well and finding the open player in most circumstances.

That’s how Meyers got her seventh triple, after her teammates kept moving the ball, finding her outside the three-point line as the shot clock was winding down (130-33).

That was followed shortly after by a pinpoint pass from Beckford-Norton who found Gustafson all alone under the basket for the easy two (134-38).

De Falco formed the final score (140-42), draining a long two as the clock was winding down.

Player of the Game

Today’s Player of the Game was Abby Meyers who shot an incredible 7/9 from three. The London Lions guard came off the bench and in 21 minutes scored 28 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out one assist.

Team	Name	Points	Rebounds	Assists
London Lions	Abby Meyers	28	6	1
London Lions	Karlie Samuelson	23	8	3
Nottingham Wildcats	Valerie Cassidy De Falco	14	1	0
Nottingham Wildcats	Mari Stewart	11	4	0

B. Braun Sheffield Hatters 87-67 Caledonia Gladiators

B. Braun Sheffield Hatters starting five: Carla Drennan, Nicolette Fairley, Georgia Gayle, Emma Eichmeyer, Madison Washington

Caledonia Gladiators starting five: Hannah Robb, Yevheniia Putra, Erin Mcgarrachan, Kirsty Brown, Djeneba N’diaye

B. Braun Sheffield Hatters ended Caledonia Gladiators’ unbeaten run to start the season, beating them 87-67 in the Women’s British Basketball League.

With this win the Hatters move up to second in the standings with a record of 5-1, while the Gladiators drop down to fourth with a record of 4-1. 

First Half

The game started with the two teams exchanging baskets in the first five minutes.

Emma Eichmeyer and Carla Drennan worked the pick-and-roll excellently, with the former finding the latter all alone under the basket for the easy two (10-9).

That was followed by a deep three by Desiree Ramos that gave Sheffield a four-point lead (13-9).

A nice spin move under the basket by Laken James made it a one-possession game once more (16-14), keeping Caledonia close.

Madison Washington formed the final score of the first quarter (20-15) when she bumped and bodied her way in for a tough layup with the defence all over her.

The second period saw the Hatters get their first double-digit lead of the game, when a pick-and-pop between Eichmeyer and Drennan led to the latter connecting from downtown (27-17), completing a 9-2 run.

With three minutes left in the half the hosts managed to increase their lead to a game-high 14 points (38-24), when Washington posted up and faded away from the basket to drain the mid-range jumper.

Sheffield kept their double-digit lead as the half drew to a close, after Shauna Harrison completed an and-one play when she was fouled on the floater.

Three free throws by Djeneba N’diaye were the last points of the half, with the Hatters up by 10 (44-34).

Second Half

The second half started with the Gladiators playing tough defence trying to force a turnover. 

The Scots managed to get a steal early on when N’diaye swiped Washington, before dishing it to Yevheniia Putra for the open layup (44-36).

That was quickly answered by Drennan who banked in a three just as the shot clock was winding down (47-36).

The two sides then proceeded to exchange baskets for the next seven minutes with the difference staying at around 10 points.

As the third quarter was winding down however, the Hatters went on a 8-0 run, going up by 18 points (62-44), which marked their largest lead of the game.

A layup by Ariadna Pujol formed the final score of the third period (62-46).

A 13-2 run by Sheffield to start the fourth quarter put them up by 25 points (73-48), giving them their largest lead of the game and giving Caledonia a mountain to climb.

The two sides then proceeded to exchange baskets for the next six minutes, while the difference stayed consistently above 20 points.

That was the difference at the end of the game, with the Hatters coming out on top by a margin of 20 points (87-67).

Player of the Game

Today’s Player of the Game was Madison Washington who dominated on both ends of the floor and recorded a double-double. The Sheffield Hatters centre scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds.

Team	Name	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Sheffield Hatters	Madison Washington	15	12	0
Sheffield Hatters	Emma Eichmeyer	14	4	3
Caledonia Gladiators	Djeneba N’diaye	24	0	6
Caledonia Gladiators	Erin Mcgarrachan	16	4	3

Manchester Giants 76-87 Essex Rebels

Manchester Giants starting five: Georgia Anderson, Myah Pace, Hannah Shaw, Leah Mcderment, Sydney Hunter

Essex Rebels starting five: Claire Paxton, Renee Busch, Katherine Tudor, Megan Haines, Darcy Kay Rees

Essex Rebels led the majority of the game as they secured an impressive 76-87 win away at Manchester Giants in the Women’s British Basketball League.

With this win the Rebels climb to 3-3 in the standings, overtaking their opponents in fifth place who fall to a record of 3-4.

First Half

The game started with Essex rushing to a 4-10 lead, before being pegged back by Manchester on the back of a 7-0 run (11-10).

The two sides then proceeded to exchange baskets and the lead for the next four minutes, with the visitors closing out the quarter on top by one point (23-24).

The first few minutes of the second quarter was much of the same, with the Rebels always ahead by one possession.

With five minutes left in the half, Leah Mcderment hit a jumpshot to tie the game at 29 apiece, which was the game’s first tie.

A quick 6-0 run by the Rebels however gave them a two-possession lead (29-35), on the back of a triple by Katherine Tudor, a layup by Darcy Kay Rees and a technical free throw by Renee Busch.

With just under a minute left until the break, the visitors got their largest lead of the game (33-41), making it a three-possession game when Daniela Turner laid it in.

In such a close game, where the two teams kept exchanging buckets, these leads proved crucial.

A 5-0 run by the hosts to close out the half meant that the two sides went to the locker rooms with just three points separating them (38-41).

Second Half

The second half started in a similar way to the first, with the two sides going back and forth, with the score tight.

With just under four minutes left to play in the period, the Rebels managed to get their first double-digit lead of the game (46-56) when Turner finished with a layup.

Essex managed to increase their lead to a game-high 13 (50-63) when Kay Rees hit her only triple of the night, following the assist from Cameron Taylor-Willis. 

A three-pointer from Myah Pace helped Manchester claw the deficit back down to 10 (55-65) going into the fourth quarter.

The hosts started the final 10 minutes strong, with Georgia Anderson hitting a three and cutting the lead down to seven (58-65).

The Rebels weren’t going to allow their opponents to get back into the game however and went on an 8-0 run to put themselves up by 15 (58-73), when Dayzsha Rogan converted both of her free throws.

The Giants weren’t just going to give up though and they went on their own 9-0 run (69-75), cutting the lead back down to six and making the last five minutes all to play for.

That deficit was reduced even further when Pace connected from downtown to make it a four-point game (72-76).

Three successful offences in a row for the Rebels, coupled with three stops allowed them to increase their lead back up to 10 (72-82), making things very difficult for their opponents going into the final 100 seconds.

Despite a valiant effort by Manchester, the margin was just too large and Essex came out victorious 76-87.

Player of the Game

Today’s Player of the Game was Darcy Kay Rees who dominated on both ends of the floor and recorded a double-double. The Essex Rebels centre scored 17 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and dished out two assists.

Team	Name	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Manchester Giants	Georgia Anderson	19	1	5
Manchester Giants	Myah Pace	15	11	4
Essex Rebels	Daniela Turner	18	6	1
Essex Rebels	Darcy Kay Rees	17	21	2