WBBL Championship
Caledonia Gladiators 93-55 Essex Rebels (25-16, 49-29, 70-42)
(Gladiators: Handy, 23; McGarrachan, 22; Adams, 15 – Rebels: Swart, 14; Munns, 12; Freeman/Paxton, 11)
Newcastle Eagles 53-67 Sevenoaks Suns (14-16, 33-35, 40-54)
(Eagles: Nolan, 13; Fernandez Pardo, 11; Lewis, 8 – Suns: Monakana, 24; Busch, 11; Koppl, 10)
London Lions 90-65 Durham Palatinates (24-17, 39-37, 58-54)
(Lions: Battle, 18; Murray/Vorpahl, 15; Snytsina, 12 – Palatinates: Brault, 23; Ottewill-Soulsby, 22; Wayne, 9)
Nottingham Wildcats 65-85 Leicester Riders (13-25, 30-44, 44-66)
(Wildcats: Mefful, 14; Ashton, 12; Charity, 8 – Riders: Dabbs, 14; Johnston, 13; Eadsforth-Yates/O’Dwyer/Shaw, 11)
The Caledonia Gladiators finished their regular season campaign with a commanding 93-55 victory over the mid-table Essex Rebels.
Providing 23 points while operating from the Gladiators bench, Chantelle Handy had a ruthless shooting performance, going 9-13 from the floor, as well as 5-8 from three-point range.
Caledonia skipper Erin McGarrachan fell just shy of the game-high scorer, adding 22 points as the Gladiators cruised to victory.
The first quarter saw the Gladiators heat up from all areas of the court, with Robyn Lewis breaking the deadlock with a flashy deep three-point shot.
The home side burst to a 20-6 run before Essex centre Sune Swart sealed the Caledonia defenders perfectly, receiving the ball down low for an easy layup.
Essex came back determinedly, with Alex Nessens splashing one in from outside the arc to make it a lively 23-13 scoreline.
But the visitors struggled to contain the dynamic partnership of Handy and McGarrachan, whose timely cuts and well-timed passes allowed the Gladiators to keep on top.
Caledonia refused to let off entering the second quarter, with Handy providing a second triple in the contest, before Abbie Wolf threaded a great pass to McGarrachan, who converted under the basket.
Though struggling to convert from long range, the Rebels hit hard at the Gladiators defence, with Tia Freeman and Claire Paxton muscling their way down the lanes to earn trips to the free throw line.
Despite the growing foul trouble, Caledonia’s Tea Adams nailed the concluding pair of shots in the first half, extending their lead, 49-29.
Caledonia’s stellar scoring persisted in the second half, with Handy shining on the attacking front.
The veteran registered seven straight points for the Gladiators, putting the game to bed as Caledonia reached an impressive 28-point lead by the end of the third period.
Ashleigh Munns went on a scoring frenzy to start the final quarter, contributing all of Essex’s nine first points in the period.
Despite the Munns heat check, the Gladiators were able to keep the Rebels at bay as Adams timed several great passes leading to easy buckets.
With the Gladiators converting 12 three-pointers to Essex’s one, the Scottish side were able to complete a fantastic game off with a final score of 93-55.
The Gladiators’ emphatic finish to the regular season will look to continue as the playoff rounds linger.
For the Rebels, they sit comfortably in playoff contention, and will look to bounce back big if they are to compete for title.
Sevenoaks Suns punched their ticket to the playoffs with a critical 53-67 victory over the Newcastle Eagles.
Janice Monakana’s range was limitless for the Suns, dropping 24 points, eight rebounds, and knocking down all seven of her free-throw attempts.
Alongside Monakana, Julia Koppl filled the statsheet, amassing 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Sevenoaks were off to a scorching start in the opening minutes, with confident scores from Monakana and Araion Bradshaw.
Stringing a nice pull-up jumper from the elbow with little hesitation, Monakana aided her Sevenoaks team to a dominant 2-10 start.
The tables turned as the opening quarter reached the five-minute mark, with Newcastle forging a comeback.
Fresh off their win over Cardiff Met Archers one day earlier, attacking threats Antoinette Lewis and Chloe Gaynor combined for some impressive plays to help make it anyone’s game.
A picturesque pass from Courtney Clasen to find Katie Nolan was the cherry on top for the Eagles in their first quarter comeback, reducing Sevenoaks’ lead to just two points.
Monakana was on-hand to sink a big three after an impressive fast break, originating from a strong Renee Busch rebound.
Newcastle answered back with long-ranged conversions from Abi Lowe and Marina Fernandez Pardo.
Suns earned a five-point margin over the Eagles with a few minutes remaining in the half.
But a pair of Eagles layups late closed the gap once again, with Suns edging out a touch with a halftime score of 33-35.
A hot start for Sevenoaks out of the break culminated in a 10-0 run, with the Eagles settling for long-ranged efforts but coming short of hitting the mark.
With a great start to the third quarter, the Suns warded off a second Eagles comeback, ending the third period with a comfortable 14-point advantage.
The Eagles were not finished, however, and made a positive start to the final quarter – with Gaynor finding Fernandez Pardo available to put away a tidy three-point shot.
A determined and aggressive effort from both sides late in the game saw plenty of trips to the free-throw line, with Monakana going perfect on all her visits.
A clean floater from Brittany Hodges had the Suns ahead by nearly 20 points in the closing minutes.
Despite a 7-2 run from the hosts in the closing minute, the Suns triumphed with a 14-point gap over the Eagles.
London Lions used an emphatic fourth quarter to defeat the Durham Palatinates, 90-65.
Nearing a triple-double, Lions forward Ty Battle contributed on both ends of the floor, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six steals, and two blocks to take MVP honours.
For the valiant Palatinates, forward Harriett Ottewill-Soulsby and guard Eva Brault combined for 45 points as they kept the Lions within reach for three quarters.
Elle Hendershot, coming fresh from an eye-watering triple-double on Saturday connected effectively with a basket to get things rolling for the Palatinates.
But it wasn’t long before Lions put on the pressure, looking to Taylor Murray who poured in the points, before Katsiaryna Snytsina characteristically sank a deep three from the top of the perimeter.
With London back in control, Durham hit back hard.
Inma Bautista dealt a blow to London’s scoring run with a primed and ready jumpshot from the corner.
A clever move put Lion Leslie Vorpahl at the free throw line for three attempts, converting all to put her team in front.
Vorpahl sank a three in the closing minutes before Durham rounded off a nail-biting first quarter, 24-19.
The tension endured into the second quarter as the Durham Palatinates pushed to topple the league leaders.
Brault and Ottewill Soulsby’s lethal shooting paid dividends, crunching the gap as the Lions looked to Ty Battle to clamp down on Durham’s attack.
Battle and Murray delivered critical baskets before half time for London before Durham replied as Brault dominated the defensive boards and found plenty of opportunities to score.
Both teams played fiercely in the third quarter, with just four points separating both sides entering the fourth quarter.
The switch flipped for Lions, who catapulted into the lead with a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
Forcing the Palatinates to go without a field goal for nearly the duration of the last period, the Lions scored at will, sinking the Durham side despite their best efforts to contain the league’s premier side.
Leicester Riders completed their regular season campaign with back-to-back wins, with the second win over the Nottingham Wildcats, 65-85.
The Riders triumphed behind McKenzie Johnston, who finished with an efficient 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists in just over 16 minutes of floor time.
Leicester began with successive layups from Emma Fee putting the visitors soundly ahead.
Wildcats replied positively, as team captain Brahe Ashton gelled effectively with Macy Cook to combine for a string of baskets, keeping it a single-digit ball game.
Riders widened their margin, however, with a fast 9-0 burst pushing them firmly in the lead.
Yemisi Mefful converted a pair of buckets late in the first quarter, on her way to a team-high of 14 points, but trailed, 13-25.
The hosts improved in the second quarter, forcing a handful of awkward shots for the Riders in the first few minutes.
Natalie Charity and Charlotte Grant provided three triples, preventing the Riders from running away.
Riders played with ferocity to the halftime buzzer, stopping the Wildcats from scoring a field goal in the closing minutes, while Fiona O’Dwyer and Oliana Squires completed brilliant solo scores to complete the first half.
Leicester continued to fire on all cylinders in the second half, controlling the game and scoring effectively past the Wildcats defence.
Despite being a more youthful side, the Wildcats played fearlessly, as Tatiana Nsoungani chalked the team’s final buckets of the third quarter.
Riders guard Lauren Dabbs hosted her own scoring clinic in the final quarter, amassing 11 of her team-high 14 points from the bench in the last period.
Supported by a bombardment of threes from Jessica Eadsforth-Yates and Mackenzie Johnston, the Leicester team closed the game in style.
Nottingham had one last laugh, going on a 7-2 run behind a Mefful’s consecutive buckets, but it proved not to be enough as Leicester completed their back-to-back ticket, just in time for the playoffs.
View the final standings of the 2022-23 WBBL Championship season HERE.