Betty Codona WBBL Trophy: First Round
Essex Rebels 79 – 64 Sevenoaks Suns (27-19, 49-36, 69-52)
(Rebels: Haines/Swart, 15; Turner, 14; Freeman/Paxton, 9 – Suns: Monakana, 14; Busch, 12; Fritz, 10)
Durham Palatinates 80 – 85 Cardiff Met Archers (22-17, 47-37, 69-60)
(Palatinates: Ottewill Soulsby, 27; Hendershot, 20; Bautista, 11 – Archers: Bunyan, 23; Hatch, 17; Saiki, 16)
Brent Bulls 42 – 98 London Lions (8-32, 25-56, 35-75)
(Bulls: Moore, 9; Whyte, 7; Maignomo, 6 – Lions: Hersler, 25; Joseph, 19; Beckford-Norton, 14)
Caledonia Gladiators 69 – 47 Thames Valley Cavaliers (19-9, 37-23, 56-37)
(Gladiators: McGarrachan, 24; Handy, 16; Wolf, 12 – Cavaliers: Trailin, 10; Goldsby, 9; Okwuosa, 7)
Essex Rebels triumphed 79-64 over Sevenoaks Suns on the first day of the Betty Codona WBBL Trophy first round at the Essex Sports Arena on Saturday.
In front of an enthusiastic home crowd, Rebels were triumphant over last season’s Trophy finalists, behind a terrific 15-point, 10-rebound showing from Sune Swart.
Swart also protected the rim tirelessly, with six rejections to her name.
In addition to 15 points from the bench, Megan Haines was also a game-changer for the hosts on their way to a double-figure victory.
Both sides were near-perfect from long range in the first quarter, with both sides going 8-11 from beyond the arc,
Essex had six players on the scoreboard by the end of the opening quarter, Haines with an immediate impact coming off the bench, leading all scorers by halftime with 13 in her name.
One of the most prolific centres in the WBBL, Essex’s Swart did a stellar job facilitating from the low post, setting up countless opportunities for Haines and other sharpshooters such as Ashleigh Munns.
Swart added a sizable defensive presence for the Rebels, rejecting two Sevenoaks layups to keep the energetic Suns at bay.
Janice Monakana proved a nightmare to contain in the early stages, notching 12 points with three triples by halftime.
With Daniel Turner recording a perfect 5/5 across the first two quarters, the Rebels entered the locker rooms with a respectable 13-point edge over Sevenoaks.
Swart came out strong to start the third quarter, a quick two-points down low lifting her total points into double digits.
Haines continued with momentum, getting by Sevenoaks’ solid defence to convert a tough left-handed layup.
Sevenoaks replied with a pair of triples from Fritz and Renee Busch but were denied a third straight three-point shot by a Swart swat.
Rebels looking to seal off the game, Jade Mbam decided to make it rain, going 3/3 from beyond the arc to get the hosts up by 21.
Araion Bradshaw turned up the defensive intensity, pickpocketing the Rebels in their own half and distributing to Amelia Watkins, who drained away an elbow shot to reduce Essex’s hot streak.
As the game transitioned to the final quarter, the Rebels maintained a firm grip, getting Sevenoaks deeper into foul trouble and affording Essex with a points feast.
Swart continued to dominate on both ends of the floor, registering her sixth block and reaching double digits in points and rebounds.
Rebels advance after a fierce performance, while the Suns depart from the trophy contest despite outscoring the hosts marginally in the closing minutes and three players recording double-digits in scoring.
Cardiff Met Archers came from behind to edge Durham Palatinates 85-80 in a gripping Trophy clash.
Trailing by as many as 16 points, Cardiff stormed back to turn the tables in the final quarter, and it ultimately sealed the win.
One of three Cardiff players to score at least 15 points, Isobel Bunyan led the Archers on a tremendous comeback performance, outscoring the Palatinates by 14 in the closing quarter.
The Archers began the game hot, with Mara Marchizotti getting a clean look under the basket on her way to 10 points.
Soon after, Abigail Yunker found space to drain a long-range effort.
Durham responded powerfully as Ottewill Soulsby began her staggering performance, grabbing multiple rebounds.
Palatinates made use of their other scoring options, with Elle Hendershot going coast-to-coast with ease to 20 points on the game, putting Durham ahead at the end of the first by five.
Durham eased by Cardiff in the second quarter, with a 14-0 run late in the period providing them with a healthy double-figure advantage – Ottewill Soulsby already amassing a double-double in points and rebounds.
Nevertheless, Bunyan’s 11 second-quarter points disallowed Durham to run away with the win, as the second half went down to the wire.
Cardiff got an early spree of points to their name to start the third quarter, Bunyan and Shannon Hatch operating effectively to trigger a full timeout for the Palatinates.
Inma Bautista’s three-point shooting gave Durham a much-needed spark to pull away from Cardiff. At the same time, Soulsby continued to be a significant threat inside, seeing multiple trips to the free-throw line.
Cardiff continued to mount the pressure, cutting the deficit to single digits entering the final quarter.
The last quarter witnessed a brawl between two very experienced sides, with one team scoring after the next in a thrilling affair.
Ottewill Soulsby persisted in getting buckets for the Palatinates. At the same time, Archers Hungarian guard Lara Habling provided an injection of points off the bench, with three consecutive layups helping to level up the scoreline.
Lauren Saiki and Marchizotti, with massive defensive efforts, enabled the Archers to force Durham into a scoring drought, going without a field goal for the final six minutes of the game.
A vital Hatch jumper put the Archers in the lead, and with Durham unable to muster a last-minute comeback, Cardiff saw the end of the game with trips to the free-throw line.
Despite Soulsby amassing a monster 27 points and 19 rebounds, Durham needed to progress further.
London Lions began their defence of the WBBL Trophy with an emphatic 98-42 win over WNBL Divison 1 side Brent Bulls.
Forward Paulina Hesler led all scorers with 25 points and was one of five Lions players to notch double figures in scoring.
The game began with sheer dominance from the current WBBL league leaders over the WNBL Division 1 newcomer.
Katsiaryna Snytsina and Hersler got off the mark with two early fastbreak layups forcing Brent into a timeout.
The Bulls looked to Jessica Davies, whose long two-point shot got the trailing side pumped up.
Hersler ran riot with 14 first-quarter points to her name as Brent struggled to contend with her size and nice touch underneath the basket.
A strong 14-0 run to end the first period put London firmly ahead by 24.
Brent fought hard to get past London’s fierce half-court defence as Davies pulled off a brilliant backdoor cut to finish under the basket.
Hersler continued to dominate, seeing plenty of opportunities at the free-throw line while Shequila Joseph was draining three-pointers. Her third triple of the game placed her into double-digit scoring.
Brent guard Eleanor Bishop responded with a corner three of her own with a friendly roll guiding the ball through the hoop.
Lions maintained their extensive lead with Shanice Beckford-Norton bounding through the Bulls’ defence to get the buzzer-beater layup to drop off the backboard.
Third quarter action saw Hersler surpass the 20-point mark while Joseph added to her tally of three-point makes.
Taylor Murray, a defensive specialist for the Lions, pressurised the Bulls’ attack, forcing turnovers and a pair of successive layups to place the Lions up by 40.
Beckford-Norton used her quick feet to blow past Brent’s zone defence.
With a few visits to the charity stripe, Beckford-Norton became the third Lions player to boast double-figure scoring.
Brent replied with Elisha Moore, whose slick moves inside the key led to a well-timed banked layup.
Closing the game, Kenisha Whyte powered through London’s fortified defence, converting a strong layup and drawing contact to complete a three-point play.
Brent successfully froze up the Lions’ scoring run, keeping them scoreless for a handful of possessions.
With the damage already done, London Lions completed a colossal 56-point win to advance to the next stage of the WBBL Trophy.
Caledonia Gladiators‘ long trip to Essex paid off as they comfortably defeated WNBL side Thames Valley Cavaliers 69-47 to start their WBBL Trophy campaign.
Erin McGarrachan put in a near faultless performance, as she poured in 24 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and assisted four times,
Thames Valley Cavaliers opened up the scoring with Helen Trailin producing all of their first eight points to the delight of coach Banks and the fervent Cavaliers bench.
However, Caledonia quickly reshaped and returned fire, with Erin McGarrachan adding a pair of field goals to get back into the game.
A crisp conversion from veteran Chantelle Hardy turned the game on its head, placing Caledonia comfortably ahead.
As well as a potent attacking set-up, the Gladiators put in a shift defensively, preventing the Cavaliers from recording a field goal until the second quarter.
In a much tighter battle during the second quarter, both sides exchanged buckets, starting with Thames Valley’s Katherine Goldsby, who went coast-to-coast confidently putting away an easy layup.
For the Gladiators, Abbie Wolf used her clear height advantage to cut up the Cavaliers’ defence to add a pair of easy buckets.
Emma Kerr and Kerry McGhee showed off their shooting touch from outside to inspire a healthy scoring performance against a determined Cavaliers, keeping ahead by 14 at the half-time buzzer.
Thames Valley started the hotter in the second half as Faith Okwuosa tallied the Cavaliers’ first five points of the third quarter.
But an 8-0 Caledonia run, spearheaded by McGarrachan and Handy, kept the Gladiators comfortably in front for the duration of the period.
Recording five early points in the final quarter, Gladiators continued to push for a blowout victory.
On top of scoring, Gladiators could keep the Cavaliers without a field goal for almost six minutes.
McGarrachan’s three consecutive buckets to end the game put the game to bed, as she finished, along with Wolf, with a double-double outing in points and rebounds.
Watch all the WBBL Trophy games on the official WBBL YouTube channel