WBBL Championship
Cardiff Met Archers 89-72 Durham Palatinates (24-12, 48-37, 72-54)
(Archers: Hatch, 26; Saiki/Yunker, 15; Habling, 10 – Palatinates: Wayne, 17, Bautistav/Brault/Hendershot/Hurtado Barbeito, 11)
WBBL Championship
Caledonia Gladiators 71-61 Sevenoaks Suns (18-15, 30-28, 42-47)
(Gladiators: Stasova, 18; Adams, 14; Handy/McGarrahan, 12 – Suns: Busch, 24; Fritz, 13; Monakana, 12)
WBBL Championship
Oaklands Wolves 82-96 Nottingham Wildcats (23-23, 40-50, 52-70)
(Wolves: George, 25; Gould, 22; Akpan, 3 – Wildcats: Nicolas, 26; Shaw 22; Stewart, 17)
Tipping-off this week’s WBBL action, an undefeated Cardiff Met Archers team hosted winless Durham Palatinates as Archers Arena witnessed its first dose of WBBL championship basketball.
On the attacking front for the Archers, Shannon Hatch shone, accumulating 15 of her 26 total points in the opening half. Meanwhile, Isabel Bunyan held down defensive duties for Cardiff.
Durham responded with great physicality, culminating in trips to the free-throw line for Goretti Hurtado Barbeito and Jessica Wayne keeping the Palatinates within reach of the lead.
It was Durham who came out the strongest to start the second quarter, remaining virtually perfect from the free-throw line, Eliza Brault executing a strong and-one play to provide a boost for the visitors.
A shooting clinic provided by Hatch saw her reach double-figures in both points and rebounds before the halftime whistle. Lauren Saiki’s 11 first-half assists also proved crucial to Cardiff’s 11-point advantage heading into halftime.
The second half began with fast-paced play. A nice three-point conversion from Palatinates guard Orieoma Chukwu-Etu followed by an and-one play by skipper Elle Hendershot saw Durham biting away at Archers’ double-figure lead.
Yet, all-rounders Hatch and Saiki provided once again to take the Archers lead back to 14 in the closing minutes of the period. Wayne showed glimpses of a Durham comeback, with three consecutive buckets midway into the fourth.
A contest with plenty of excitement from both sides, Cardiff Met Archers ultimately came out the victors, improving to 3-0, while Durham picked up their second loss on the road.
Another exciting matchup occured in Scotland, as the Caledonia Gladiators looked to extend their undefeated run as they duelled Sevenoaks Suns, who across three championship games, have averaged 92 points, a testament to their scoring prowess.
With a lively atmosphere at the Lagoon Leisure Centre, the Gladiators opened up the contest with a nicely-worked two-point shot from veteran Chantelle Handy.
Sevenoaks proved difficult to keep away from the basket. Forwards Juila Koppl and Janice Monakana getting on the scoresheet early on.
Suns’ playmaker Araion Bradshaw, who finished with 10 assists to her name, facilitated Monakana and Judit Fritz – combining for 17 first-half points to keep the Suns in the game.
Strategic ball movement saw Caledonia respond sharply to begin the second half, Erin McGarrahan, Tea Adams, and Erin Jones all converting layups under the basket from great unselfish passing play.
The nail-biting continued into the closing period, as Suns’ scoring trio of Busch, Fritz, and Monakana tested Caledonia’s defence. Handy and Busch took it in turns, exchanging three-point buckets to keep the game a thriller.
A crucial steal and finish from Stasova with 90 seconds to go put the Gladiators up by one.
Moments later, Stasova converted a clutch three-point effort, going on to seal a double-digit victory for the Scottish powerhouse.
The closing match-up in Saturday’s WBBL action saw Nottingham Wildcats journey down to St Albans, as they tipped-off against a young Oaklands Wolves team looking to fight its way back up the standings.
Wildcats were hot out of the gate to begin the game, Mari Stewart with two strong individual efforts to put Nottingham ahead, accompanied by points from Kennedy Nicolas put Nottingham up by 9 within two minutes of the tip.
Recent signing Cassidy Gould got the Oaklands Wolves on the board. Pairing up nicely with Grace George, they combined for more than half of Oaklands’ total points. Meanwhile Nottingham’s dominant duo of Nicolas and Stewart dropped 26 points in the first half.
Picking up 5 assists in the third quarter alone, Wildcats’ Brahe Ashton played a quintessential role in keeping the visiting side up by 12 heading into the last quarter, finishing the game with 17.
Oaklands held strong, shooting close to 94% from the free-throw line, while Jorja Smith provided a handful of buckets to hint at a potential comeback.
However, Wildcats proved just too strong, Nicolas amassing a monstrous statline consisting of 26 points, 23 rebounds, while shooting an efficient 73% from the field.