WBBL Play-off Final
London Lions 57-41 Leicester Riders (19-10, 12-13, 11-5, 15-13)
Winterburn 11, Snytsina 11, Murray 10; O’Dwyer 10, Squires 8, Brown 7

The Women’s British Basketball League Play-off Final marked the last clash between two teams that had met on every major stage of the season, but it finished with the same champion – the London Lions beat the Leicester Riders 57-41. 

Both teams focused on defence, especially in the third quarter, but this was the period in the game that separated the two as the Lions refused to let the Riders back into it after an 11-5 slugfest.

Holly Winterburn and Kat Snytsina did most of the scoring damage, but Taylor Murray scored 10 points in an MVP effort thanks to being all over the court and fighting for loose balls.

Azania Stewart showed her intent early by winning the opening tip, and the London Lions ran the first play for the Great Britain legend in her last ever game.

She set a successful pick and roll for Holly Winterburn, who fed the big on a mismatch for a layup at the rim.

But ferocious defence from the Riders keyed in on shutting down Winterburn as a scorer, who had extra workload with leading scorer Kiki Herbert Harrigan away from the team.

This led to quick offence up the floor, which saw Fiona O’Dwyer hit back-to-back buckets for five quick points.

Leslie Vorpahl was a difference-maker for the Lions when she checked in – her ability to pester Leicester’s guards into turnovers and push the ball created quick scores for London, including her own crossover into a pull-up three above the break.

Despite the slow start, the Lions clawed back into a 19-10 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.

Leicester closed the gap early in the second quarter. It started with a pull-up jumper from McKenzie Johnston, followed by an Ashley Arlen trip to the free throw line, and a three from Oliana Squires.

Hannah Robb dropped her defender on a drive into the lane with a fake pivot to reverse then shoot a floater, which made it 21-20 to the Lions.

Once again, it was good defence for London that slowed Leicester’s momentum – a couple of desperation heaves at the end of the shot clock and forced turnovers caused frustration for the Riders, as Jess Eadsforth-Yates got hit with an unsportsmanlike foul.

A quick pull-up three from Kat Snytsina on an out-of-timeout play drawn up by Stella Kaltsidou saw her team go up 29-20.

She then crossed up O’Dwyer and found Shequila Joseph at the rim for an open floater before they headed into the locker room up 31-23.

Aggressive defence saw London get consecutive stops and scores to start the second half, including a fast-break, pull-up mid-ranger from Taylor Murray that dripped through the net.

London were the aggressors for the opening few minutes and it took Leicester nearly six minutes to score, on a Hannah Robb floater that bounced around the rim and mercifully dropped.

As the quarter drew to a close O’Dwyer and Sytstina exchanged threes, and Vorpahl closed it with a full court attacking layup to go up 42-28.

Snytsina’s hot hand opened the scoring for London, and a good defensive stop on the other end saw Vorpahl push the ball ahead to Shanice Beckford-Norton for a layup.

Both teams tightened up on defence, but Murray got open on the wing for London to hit a three that pushed the gap to 20 points, 50-30, for her team.

With just a few minutes left in the game, Winterburn got loose for an above-the-break three, which pushed the scoreline to 55-35.

On the next out-of-bounds ball, coach Kaltsidou subbed in Paige Robinson for Azania Stewart to give the fans a chance to appreciate Z’s contribution to the game of basketball before it ended 57-41.

After the game Stewart said: “This was so special for me. I’ve given a lot to the game, and it’s given a lot to me. I’m really happy to finish in London, in front of my fans, in front of my city. It’s a big time for me.”

But she reminded everyone that the next generation was already ready to take the league to new heights: “A lot of the next generation of British players were out there today: Holly Winterburn, Kirsty Brown and Hannah Robb. The league has gotten better and stronger, and it’s being led by the London Lions. Us getting to the EuroCup and making the league come up to our standard.

“There was never an Azania Stewart or Chantelle Handy when I came in. There was never the WNBA or WBBL, but now I take time to do signatures with kids and meet players. Womens’ sport and women’s basketball is fun and exciting and it’s going to be here for a long time.”

Riders coach Krumesh Patel addressed the media after the game, and said: “If you said before the game we were going to keep them to below 60, I’d have said we’d win the game, but they probably said the same.

“I often use a boxing analogy. You get hit once, you can get back up. You get hit twice, you can get back up. But if you get hit a third time, it’s going to be difficult.” 

Captain Ashley Arlen said: “They’re so deep, they have so many bodies they can throw at you. We had to see them so many times, and that’s the goal to compete with the best.”

As the Lions conquered the quadruple – the Cup, the Trophy, the Championship and the Play-offs – they concluded nearly two years of dominance over the Women’s British Basketball League.