FIBA EuroCup Women, Play-off Round 1 (First Leg)
London Lions 65-64 Tango Bourges (14-17, 40-34, 49-43)
(Lions – Leedham-Warner 16, Beckford-Norton 13, Charles 12; Bourges – Yacoubou 17, Mann 12, Eldebrink 8)
London Lions achieved an historic win in the first leg of their FIBA EuroCup Women Play-off Round 1 tie, beating Tango Bourges 65-64 as Jo Leedham-Warner had 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists against the team with which she won this competition in 2016.
Bourges were the top-ranked team coming out of the group stages with a perfect 6-0 record, but Lions got off to the strong defensive start that they would have wanted and raced into a 10-4 lead after six minutes on Shanice Beckford-Norton’s score.
After that cagey opening they caught fire early in the second stanza, opening it with the first seven points as Holly Winterburn scored five of those, before Chantel Charles and Leedham-Warner added baskets that extended the run to 16-5 as the lead reached 30-22.
They held that lead for most of the remainder after another good defensive start to the third quarter set the tone as the teams tied those ten minutes 9-9.
But Lions had to dig deep, as the unbeaten visitors came back to snatch the lead at 56-57 inside the final five minutes following an 8-2 run. That was the cue for Leedham-Warner as she immediately responded with a three-pointer and then came up with a steal and driving lay-up that gave the hosts the lead for good.
The victory sets up a huge clash in France on Wednesday 22 December, where Lions will have to protect their one-point lead.