History was made over the weekend as Caledonia Pride punched a ticket to their first ever WBBL Final with a dramatic 66-63 success at Sport Central against a short-handed Team Northumbria.
Just two days after losing to their opponents on the same court live on BBC Sport in the WBBL Championship, Pride bounced back in a big way as Claire Paxton came up with a super 23-point display in a roller-coaster game that could have went either way.
It was playmaker Robyn Lewis who arguably hit the deal-breaker with a minute to go. The sense of relief was palpable as her long-range shot put Caledonia on the front foot and also going a long way to sealing a WBBL Cup Final date with Nottingham Wildcats on Sunday 28 January.
“It wasn’t quite a swish and it has been a running joke within the team that I have been making a few banked shots of late, so I was pleased to see it go in,” smiled Lewis.
“It seemed like fate that such an important shot would drop like that, but no matter who had put it in, it was just important we held out for the win because it was such a team effort. The last minute seemed to take forever, but I think our deeper rotation when they got into foul trouble made the difference.
“We came into the game with nothing to lose again, because everybody just expects us to lose in each round, but we showed a lot of mental strength to see it out after losing a big early lead. I don’t think we would have shown that level of character last season and so the most satisfying thing is that we are improving in that department.
She added: “Now we have a couple of weeks off to enjoy this feeling and to spend time with family, which is always important in a busy season. We will regroup early in the New Year and will be focused on not only the prospect of playing in the Final, but also improving our league position.”
Nottingham Wildcats sealed yet another showpiece Final appearance with a pulsating 75-66 comeback win against East Midlands rivals Leicester Riders, as they also extracted revenge for a recent league loss.
Siobhan Prior changed the game with two huge triples in the last quarter and is acutely aware they must now deal with the burden of expectation and what some people think is a hoodoo- having failed in every one of their previous Finals across all competitions.
She said: “It will be in the back of our minds that we haven’t gotten over the hill in a Final.
“But we have had a tough run in the Cup by playing Sevenoaks and then Leicester, so that can only be good preparation for when we get there [in Birmingham next month].”
Finally, Sevenoaks Suns are still unbeaten at the top of the WBBL standings after moving to a flawless 9-0 with a big 88-45 success over the still winless BA London Lions.