WBBL Championship
Cardiff Archers 71-86 London Lions (18-23, 28-43, 51-65)
(Archers: Hatch, 21; Saiki, 19; Marchizotti, 11 – Lions: Herbert Harrigan, 23; Battle, 18; Leonard, 12)
Essex Rebels 74-78 Sevenoaks Suns (19-29, 35-52, 52-71)
(Rebels: Paxton/Swart, 21; Haines/Turner, 11; Freeman, 5 – Suns: Koppl, 21; Bradshaw, 19; Busch/Monakana, 13)
Leicester Riders 77-43 Nottingham Wildcats (19-7, 46-15, 67-27)
(Riders: Robb, 14; Squires, 12; O’dwyer/Sarson, 10 – Wildcats: Shaw, 16; Nicholas/Stewart, 9; Charity/Whittington, 4)
Sheffield Hatters 88-45 Manchester Met Mystics (18-8, 47-19, 71-29)
(Hatters: Murphy, 16; Gayle, 15; Shaw, 14 – Mystics: Keltos, 19; McDerment, 11; Akra, 6)
A busy four-game Saturday in the WBBL Championship saw the London Lions and Sevenoaks Suns grind out tough wins behind strong games from Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (with 23 points) and Julia Koppl (21), respectively.
Meanwhile, the Leicester Riders and Sheffield Hatters rode to big wins thanks to all-round performances across the teams.
To begin the slate, the London Lions extended their unbeaten run to six, as they were triumphant on their visit to Cardiff, edging the Met Archers by 15.
In only 28 minutes of floor time, Lions guard Kennedy Leonard excelled across the board – a near triple-double performance – accumulating 12 points, 14 assists, and eight rebounds.
Forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan was invaluable for the undefeated Lions, notching 23 points. An equally dominant defensive presence, Herbert Harrigan provided three blocked shots.
Archers were nevertheless determined to upset the powerhouse club, with captain Shannon Hatch putting up a 21-point performance (14 coming in the second half).
The first half was confidently handled by the visitors. Despite a close opening quarter, London’s Ty Battle was hot off the bench, giving the Lions a huge boost to avoid Cardiff’s clutches.
An energetic start for the Archers in the second half showed glimpses of a comeback.
Crafting a 10-3 run early in the third, courtesy of a Lauren Saiki shooting clinic, the hosts reduced the Lions advantage.
Adding to the Archers’ physical performance, centre Mara Marchizotti made great use of the free-throw line, converting 7 of 10 from the charity stripe.
However, an unstoppable Herbert Harrigan piled in the baskets as the final quarter reached a close, safely securing another win for the WBBL’s top ranked franchise.
The second game of the day was a thriller with the travelling Sevenoaks Suns delivering a narrow single-digit defeat to the hosting Essex Rebels.
Sevenoaks starters; Araion Bradshaw, Julia Koppl, Renee Busch, Janice Monakana, and Judit Fritz each put up their fair share of points to get the Suns to get over the finish line.
Meanwhile, getting the Rebels back into the game was Claire Paxton and Sune Swart, who combined for 42 points.
The game got off to a strong start for the Suns, doubling their advantage over the Rebels midway into the first quarter with all starters featuring on the scoresheet.
Responding energetically, Paxton tallied Essex’s final 10 points of the quarter to keep the host’s chances alive.
It was Swart’s turn to switch on the heat in the second quarter, working fearlessly under the Suns basket, and the big drew multiple foul calls.
As for Sevenoaks, bonafide sharpshooter Renee Busch – the league’s leader in three-pointers – added to her heap, converting a pair of long-ranged efforts to improve the Suns’ advantage to 17 heading into the break.
Both teams eager to secure a win, the third quarter was hotly contested. Essex’s newcomer Daniela Turner, who has had a stellar start to her campaign with the Rebels, was on hand to give the hosts much-needed points.
However, Sevenoaks continued to use their three-point shooting expertise to downplay a strong comeback quarter for the Rebels.
Essex mustered up a prolific final quarter, taking the visitors by storm, thanks to a healthy dose of baskets from guard Megan Haines, missing just one shot on her way to 11 points off the bench.
As the pressure defensively, the Suns could not answer. Swart continued to add points from beyond the arc.
Crucial baskets provided by Bradshaw and Koppl in the closing minutes kept the Suns ahead by a fraction down the stretch. They moved to seven victories on the season.
The third game of the day saw a dominant win for the Leicester Riders over Nottingham Wildcats.
Oliana Squires’ double-double performance, amassing 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists, helped cement an emphatic win.
Additionally, Leicester’s centre Kirsty Brown was immovable under the basket, collecting 14 rebounds and rejecting three Nottingham shots.
The Riders, who trail only London Lions in the league standings, got off to a roaring start. A 10-2 run spearheaded by Brown overwhelmed the visitors.
Able to break past a solid defence, guard Kayla Shaw was able to convert a layup and a solo three-point effort to get the Wildcats back into the contest.
Leicester’s forceful attack heightened heading into the second quarter. They registered 19 undisturbed points before Nottingham could score again.
Hannah Robb and Fiona O’Dwyer together put in a huge shift to round off an exceptional first half, scoring at will, and keeping the Wildcats to just 15 points.
Riders resumed their scoring frenzy for the duration of the second half. Though Shaw did what she could to carve out a comeback, her 16 points (including two three-pointers), were not enough to suppress a booming Leicester team that has now won their last four games.
The Sheffield Hatters rounded up Saturday’s WBBL action with a thumping win over the winless Manchester Met Mystics.
Karly Murphy recorded a 16 point, 12 rebound double-double – her fifth of the season – to enable Sheffield to cruise to victory.
Getting off to a quick start, the Hatters dominated possession and were getting plenty of looks at the basket with Lena Niang recording their first four points of the contest.
Keeping the visiting Mystics scoreless for almost five minutes, a response came in the form of a well-worked jumpshot from Leah McDerment.
Yet, with mounted pressure across the floor, the Hatters were up by double figures to sound off the opening period.
Hatters increased the tempo in the second quarter with a punishing 16-0 run blowing out the Mystics defence.
Helping in their rampant attack was Nicolette Fairley, whose two-point shooting was on the money, missing just one two-point field goal on her way to 13 points.
The Sheffield side rounded off the first half in spectacular style as Hannah Shaw converted two nice shots before the teams went to the changing rooms at the break.
While the Hatters were certainly running riot, Manchester’s Samantha Keltos began to blossom for the visitors, with a streak of points to her name to reduce the substantial Hatters lead.
Keltos’ 19 points placed her first in points in the game. However, Hatters continued to storm through the Manchester defence on their way to an eye-catching 43-point win, their second largest win margin of the 2022-23 campaign.
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