WBBL Championship
London Lions 107-62 Sheffield Hatters (29-13, 61-26, 84-40)
(Lions – Leedham-Warner 22, Winterburn 17, Leonard 15; Hatters – Naylor 19, Horton 13, Shaw 8)
WBBL Championship
Newcastle Eagles 73-86 Essex Rebels (17-12, 42-33, 53-52)
(Eagles – McVicar 29, Fernandez Pardo 24, Bland 9; Rebels – Bief Salazar 19, Kohlhaas 17, Munns 15)
London Lions are just two wins away from completing a treble of WBBL silverware this season, after an empathic 45-point victory over Sheffield Hatters, whilst Newcastle Eagles failed to clinch a WBBL Play-offs spot.
Coming into Monday’s home clash with confirmed 3rd place Sheffield Hatters, the Cup and Trophy champions needed just three more wins in order to claim their treble and they got their first, as their strength and determination was on full display as the home side dominated the visiting Yorkshire side throughout the contest.
Lions exploded immediately following the opening tip, running out ahead of Sheffield 20-0 within the first six minutes of the opening period. It took almost seven minutes into the first period before Sheffield managed to put points up on the board but the Lions offence just continued to prove too strong for the visiting side.
Just as strong as their offence was, their defence was even more intense, forcing Sheffield into 21 turnovers during the game and enabling them to pick up 32 points from turnovers alone.
Despite the best efforts of the Hatters side, the Lions just proved to be too strong – with Lions shooting no less than 23 points per quarter, and taking a 35-point lead at half-time before extending it to as much as 44 by the end of the third period and finishing comfortably with a 45 point win, off the backs of stellar performances from Jo Leedham-Warner, 22 points and seven rebounds, and Holly Winterburn, 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The Lions now just need two more wins, or a Sevenoaks loss on Friday, to claim their third piece of WBBL silverware in what has been one of the most dominant seasons from any WBBL club in history.
Meanwhile, despite showing tremendous heart and fighting spirit, Newcastle Eagles failed to clinch a spot in the WBBL Play-offs, as they fell at home to Essex Rebels, 73-86.
Things looked promising for the home side early on in the first half, with the Eagles managing to take a nine-point lead by the time the half-time buzzer sounded, thanks to big performances from Maddy McVicar and Marina Fernandez Pardo – who led their team with a combined 53 points, whilst Rachel Bland picked up 12 rebounds, 5 assists and nine points.
However, a reinvigorated Essex Rebels side emerged from the locker room for the second half, bursting out with a 12-2 run within the opening three minutes of the third period to suddenly put themselves in the lead. It was clear then that the heat was on as both teams continued to trade single-digit leads throughout the third period, and by the time the final period commenced, the Eagles found themselves ahead by merely a single point.
With the Play-offs hanging in the balance, the Eagles certainly weren’t prepared to quit and continued to put forth a tremendous display of courage against a challenging Essex side. As the clock ticked to just over five minutes remaining, the Eagles found themselves trailing by just two points, but as Essex began to pile the pressure on an already depleted Eagles side, the visitors managed to run out ahead and put up a 12-0 run to give them a double digit lead of 14 with just three minutes remaining.
The lead sadly would prove just too much for the Eagles to comeback, despite their best efforts, and as the clock began to expire, the sad reality of their Play-offs hopes were erased as Essex managed to hold onto a 13 point lead to give them a boost in their own Play-off hopes.