The away teams swept the board on Saturday while the Caledonia Gladiators restored home superiority a day later in a four-game Super League Basketball Championship slate.
Oaklands Wolves rose to second in the standings, while Newcastle Eagles, Nottingham Wildcats and Caledonia Gladiators all joined Lee Ryan’s side in climbing the table.
Manchester Basketball 78-88 Newcastle Eagles
In only their second game of the Championship campaign, Newcastle secured their first win with an 88-78 success over then-second-placed Manchester Basketball at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue on Saturday.
The visitors shot an exquisite 50% from the field, showing no ring rust having played their last – and only Championship game to date – nearly five weeks previous, registering an 82-78 loss to the Leicester Riders.
Tierra Hodges went 11/19 from the floor, unable to pull down one more rebound for a second straight Championship double-double, instead settling for 24 points and nine boards to lead the Tyneside outfit.
Jada Guinn was also close to an elusive double-double for Newcastle, adding 16 points and dishing out nine assists, going 8/10 from the field, as her lay-up with 2:40 left of the first period gave the Eagles a 12-11 lead, which they never relinquished.
For Manchester, it’s their second loss of the campaign, as they look to bounce back quickly next week at home to Caledonia. Danni Williams had 22 for the hosts, with 11 of those points coming from the foul line.
MVP: Jada Guinn (Newcastle Eagles)
Leicester Riders 54-69 Oaklands Wolves
Manchester’s loss was Oaklands’ gain, as the Wolves leapfrogged their counterparts from the North-West into second with a 69-54 win over the Leicester Riders at Loughborough University.
The Wolves were quick out of the blocks, never letting Leicester get into any rhythm as they raced to a 24-13 lead after 10 minutes, pushing it to 38-24 at the half. The Riders did enjoy positive spells in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late.
Terri Battle and Great Britain international Shanice Beckford-Norton led the winners with 12 points each as Oaklands improved to 3-0 for the season.
For Leicester, they suffered their third straight loss after winning their opening two Championship games with a tricky road game against Nottingham coming up.
Great Britain youngster Katie Januszewska had a game-high 14 for the hosts.
MVP: Shanice Beckford-Norton (Oaklands Wolves)
London Lions 48-88 Nottingham Wildcats
Nottingham Wildcats used a 28-6 fourth quarter to power past the winless London Lions 88-48 at Barking Abbey.
The win improves Nottingham’s record to 2-3, while London fall to 0-4.
But the Lions were promising, particularly in the second period, when they reduced Nottingham’s advantage to as little as seven points in a game where the Wildcats’ lead was almost exclusively in double-digits throughout.
As they entered the fourth quarter 60-42 to the good, the visitors moved up a gear and a 9-0 start to the final ten only created more distance between the two sides.
Claire Jacobs was inspired, leading the way for the winners with 35 points and six assists as Nottingham saw two players record double-doubles.
Erin Antosh had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Ashlee Lewis posted 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Monique Esbrand was the sole London player in double figures, leading the way with 19.
MVP: Claire Jacobs (Nottingham Wildcats)
Caledonia Gladiators 75-38 Cardiff Met Archers
Caledonia Gladiators blitzed the Cardiff Met Archers 75-38 in Sunday’s lone Championship encounter at PlaySport.
The Gladiators held Cardiff to just three points in the second, ballooning their advantage from 17-11 after one to 38-14 at the break, putting the game beyond doubt.
Tea Adams led the victors with 12 points on 4/5 shooting as Caledonia drained ten triples in the rout.
Abigail Yunker had eight points to lead Cardiff.
MVP: Erin McGarrachan (Caledonia Gladiators)