Leicester Riders kept pace with the top of the Women’s Basketball League Championship by beating Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles – their fourth win in a row.
Starting Fives:
Leicester Riders: Taylor O’Brien, Rayven Peeples, Marissa Hamilton, Samantha Ashby, McKenzie Johnston
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles: Chloe Gaynor, Marina Fernandez Pardo, Abigail Lowe, Lauren Saiki, Tierra HodgesL
First Half:
Eagles were first on the scoresheet with Tierra Hodges, but quickly fell behind as they lost the early momentum.
With that swing in the game, the Riders were able to care out a lead of four points going into the second quarter.
Once again, Newcastle started strongly to tie the game up, but found themselves up against a quality Riders side.
Hodges clawed back some points for Newcastle in the final few seconds of the half, with Leicester taking a seven-point advantage going into the second half of the game.
Second Half:
The Riders’ terrific trio of Taylor O’Brien, Samantha Ashby and Marissa Hamilton were all unstoppable in the third quarter.
Between them, the players scored 31 out of Leicester’s 34 points in the third quarter.
Led by Hodges, Newcastle tried to launch a comeback but the 24-point disadvantage they had was too big of a deficit to overhaul.
Leicester ultimately rode out of the Mattioli Arena with a 90-75 victory.
Player of the Game:
Leicester Riders’ Taylor O’Brien was a scoring machine, putting up 29 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Her unstoppable third quarter was the main reason the game was put to bed early.
| Team | Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Leicester Riders | Taylor O’Brien | 29 | 11 | 4 |
| Leicester Riders | Samantha Ashby | 15 | 5 | 3 |
| Newcastle Eagles | Tierra Hodges | 23 | 6 | 1 |
| Newcastle Eagles | Jada Dapaa | 14 | 12 | 2 |
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