London Lions have punched their ticket to the Betty Codona Women’s British Basketball League Trophy final, with a clinical second quarter helping them stay out off Sheffield Hatters’ reach and win 72-60

Megan Gustafson was big off the bench with 15 points for the visitors and was one of four Lions to reach the double-digit mark in scoring. Hatters threatened to come back in the fourth quarter after stringing together some scores. Madison Washington spearheaded their play with 16-personal.

Starting fives:
Sheffield Hatters: Nicolette Fairley, Emma Eichmeyer, Shauna Harrison, Desiree Ramos, Madison Washington.
London Lions: Ivana Katanic, Katsyriana Snytsina, Holly Winterburn, Temi Fágbénlé, Karlie Samuelson.

First Half

It was an even start to proceedings as both teams went back and forth with buckets. Emma Eichmeyer got Sheffield’s first three points, but London quickly overtook them on the scoreboard thanks to Kat Snytsina from range following Holly Winterburn splitting her free-throw attempts.

This continued throughout the quarter before Temi Fágbénlé put in back to back finishes off the glass to make it a two-possession game in favour of the Lions.

Shauna Harrison answered back with a driving lay of her own, but the visitors got in a groove and pushed the lead out to six with Karlie Samuelson drilling a three and Ivana Katanic finishing in the lane.

The defensive play shone for the next two minutes with neither side giving up good looks. Out of the dry spell it was the Hatters who were firing. Naomi Campbell found her shooting touch and tied the game at 15 with makes from inside and outside the arc.

Savannah Wilkinson and Melita Emmanuel-Carr traded lay-ups to end the first, with the sides level going into the second.

There was very little to split the sides early in the second as they both continued to score the ball at a high clip.

The hosts took a slender lead with Harrison firing in from outside, however any gap they made on the scoresheet was closed on the following possession. London’s first seven points of the quarter came through Megan Gustafson who single-handedly restored their lead.

Fágbénlé started a nine-two run in favour of the away side which saw them take their biggest lead of the game until that point at 39-30. It was again Harrison trying to pull the Hatters back into the game, but a couple of foul shots from Winterburn saw London go into half-time with a 41-32 lead.

Second Half

Gustafsson continued to be influential in London’s play, pulling in rebounds and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Following a pair of free-throws from Snytsina, the London forward went on another scoring run to extend the gap out to 13 before Desiree Ramos fired back for three.

Sheffield then surprised London with 2 scores in a matter of seconds as Eichmeyer laid in, with Emanuel-Carr swiping the ball off the in-bound pass for a simple finish under the rim.

Though this cut the deficit to single-figures, Lions responded calmly with four points to reinstate their 12-point lead, before kicking on through Snytsina at the charity stripe.

Madison Washington made three out off four at the line, with Campbell adding a two to cut the difference to nine. The visitors responded yet again through Abby Meyers and Maya Price to take a 59-46 lead with one quarter of play remaining.

Harrison and Price traded blows at both ends to start the fourth quarter scoring. A tough turnaround from Campbell was the last basket for nearly two minutes, as both teams locked down defensively.

Sheffield with their place in the final on the line forced the issue upon London and piled on the scoring. Having been down 13 points, four straight buckets brought them right back into the tie as Washington took over. Samuelson stopped the Lions’ rut with another three, before Emanuel-Carr cut the London lead to eight.

With time running down, the experience of Samuelson and Fágbénlé shone through and pushed the difference back out to double digits.

The away side managed to see out the final seconds and secure their place in the Betty Codona Trophy final where they will face Essex Rebels in an all South East battle.

Player of the Game

Megan Gustafson’s ability to put together multiple solo scoring runs sees her pick up today’s player of the game award. She finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and was the catalyst for the visitors in the second and third quarters.

Player	Team	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Shauna Harrison	Sheffield Hatters	12	13	1
Madison Washington	Sheffield Hatters	16	7	3
Megan Gustafson	London Lions	15	6	0
Katsiaryna Snytsina	London Lions	11	4	5