London Lions complete historic campaign with fourth consecutive Playoff title

London Lions completed a quadruple of silverware in the 2023/24 campaign, with a 92-65 win over the Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles in the Women’s British Basketball League Playoff Final.

Abby Meyers’ 31-point performance; a new record for a Women’s League Playoff Final, led the Lions to their fourth trophy of the year, and fourth Playoff title in a row in comfortable fashion.

A strong first quarter showing from Newcastle showed they were not going to back down, however London’s ability to score in bunches helped them to build a big and a record-breaking scoring performance in a Playoff Final.

Starting Fives

London Lions: Ivana Katanic, Holly Winterburn, Katsiaryna Snytsina, Savannah Wilkinson, Abby Meyers.

Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles: Lauren Saiki, Abby Lowe, Marina Fernandez Pardo, Tierra Hodges, Chloe Gaynor.

First Half

London Lions were in the hunt for a domestic triple, facing a Newcastle Eagles side that was no stranger to an upset in this year’s Playoffs.

Lions overcame the Nottingham Wildcats and Leicester Riders with two polished performances to book a spot at the 02 Arena, despite missing four key figures who all travelled to compete in the WNBA.

Newcastle came through two higher seeded teams in B. Braun Sheffield Hatters and Caledonia Gladiators to stamp their ticket to the final, having finished sixth in the regular season standings.

London Lions opened proceedings with a nine-nothing run, as Abby Meyers found her shooting touch from behind the arc, followed up with inside scores from Ivana Katanic and Holly Winterburn.

Tierra Hodges was the first Eagle on the scoreboard, but back-to-back buckets from Meyers pushed London out to an early 12-point lead.

Eagles’ Head Coach, Matt Newby called a timeout, looking to settle his side’s early nerves. Out of the huddle, Hodges poured in two more makes which ignited a Newcastle run.

Katie Nolan caused London a problem in the paint, and helped Newcastle close the gap from the free throw line. By the end of the period they had more-than-halved the deficit, as London headed into the second with an 18-14 lead.

Lions flexed their muscles in the second period and upped their scoring tempo. First, Newcastle cut the lead to one through Zoe Willis from deep, before Meyers stamped her mark. She had 13 points in the second alone, carrying a lot of London’s scoring load.

With offensive threat, Abby Lowe in foul trouble and on the bench, the Eagles faced a cold snap and allowed London to restore their double-digit advantage.

Lauren Saiki and Chloe Gaynor combined well multiple times down the floor to chip away at the scoreline. Saiki showed an array of tough moves through the taller London defence, dishing out six assists in the half.

Kat Snytsina in her final game as a professional did well to put the ball on the floor, finishing nicely under the basket to pad the lead. Meyers’ eye-watering 21-point first half put London firmly in the driving seat, leading 46-26 through two.

Second Half

Three of Newcastle’s first four baskets in the second half came from behind the perimeter; two from Gaynor, one from Lowe. Lions remained unfazed as Savannah Wilkinson nailed consecutive scores.

The sides went blow-for-blow in the third, depicted perfectly by Meyers who erased Saiki’s three with one of her own.

Following this, the second half of the third became a free-throw shootout, as the sides remained inseparable in the quarter.

Meyers again proved to be the difference maker, taking her total beyond thirty with another pair of threes. This saw London take the quarter 28-22, and more importantly a 24-point lead with only 10 minutes remaining.

Lions quickly turned it into a 28-point lead with the opening makes in the final period, before the scoring slowed on both ends of the floor. Lowe put up Newcastle’s first five in the quarter, with Hodges adding a pair from the foul line.

A scoreless two-minute stint came to a close when Shanice Beckford-Norton finished a tough lay-up, before youngsters Ruchae Walton and Katie Cox entered the game for the side from the capital.

Walton made an immediate impact in her little time on court, nailing a three before scoring off her own steal to bring the Lions bench to their feet.

London comfortably saw out the game, with a record-breaking scoring performance securing their domestic triple of silverware. Despite Newcastle’s best efforts, a dominant London side capped off their campaign with another piece of history and a 92-65 win at the 02 arena.

Player of the Game

Abby Meyers was the UNBEATABLE Player of the Game in the Playoff Final with an all-time 31-point performance securing London their fourth trophy of the season with lights out shooting from behind the arc.

Player	Team	Points	Rebounds	Assists
Abby Meyers	London Lions	31	1	3
Savannah Wilkinson	London Lions	13	11	5
Tierra Hodges	Newcastle Eagles	21	12	3
Chloe Gaynor	Newcastle Eagles	9	5	1

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