Essex Rebels and London Lions are the first two teams through to this year’s Betty Codona Women’s British Basketball League Trophy Semi-Finals, both picking up double digit wins at home to advance.
Rebels survived a scare against Leicester Riders to win 84-70, with Lions taking control of the second half against Caledonia Gladiators to win 74-58. All four sides received byes into the Quarter-Finals of the competition, having finished in the top five in last season’s league play.
Essex Rebels 84-70 Leicester Riders
Essex Rebels secured their spot in the Women’s British Basketball League Trophy Semi-Finals, dominating against Leicester Riders and fighting off a comeback scare to take the game 84-70.
Kat Tudor’s third quarter burst saw Essex soar out to their biggest lead of the game at 24 points. Riders rallied through Taylor O’Brien and Sam Ashby to bring it back to within six points, but Rebels held their own to go through.
Starting Fives
Essex Rebels: Claire Paxton, Renee Busch, Kat Tudor, Megan Haines, Darcy Kay Rees.
Leicester Riders: Taylor O’Brien, Sam Ashby, Rayven Peeples, McKenzie Johnston, Marissa Hamilton.
First Half
Megan Haines got the first bucket of the game for Essex with a finish high off the glass dropped straight through. Leicester’s Sam Ashby went back-to-back to give them a lead, before Claire Paxton tied the ball-game.
Essex streaked out to a 14-6 lead with a 10-2 run that saw them drain a pair of threes through Renee Busch and Kat Tudor. Darcy Kay Rees was a problem on the boards, keeping plays alive as the Rebels relished the second chance opportunities.
The hosts were smothering on defence and their offensive production was staggering. Essex made it a 19-point game in the closing minutes as the triples kept falling and they continued to break down the inside defence, chasing their misses.
Leicester closed the quarter with a couple of trips to the line for Ashby, and their first assist which came with 30 seconds left on the clock. Rebel’s team play saw them get 10 assists in the first alone, giving them a 31-14 advantage.
Jessica Eadsforth-Yates got Riders’ much-needed first three of the game early in the second, after both sides faced a slow start to the period. This was quickly cancelled out by the and-one play of Dayzsha Rogan.
All of Leicester’s offence was going through Ashby. Her consecutive makes from behind the arc took her total to 14 points, and cut the deficit to 13 points at 36-23.
The hot hand stayed with the hosts who quickly halted any hope of a resurgence. Through Haines and Tyra Whitehead, Essex restored the 19-point gap as Leicester couldn’t slow the bleeding.
Leicester looked to slowly reel in their opponents as Johnston started heating up from the mid-range. Rebels’ Rogan was the final scorer of the half, with her own pull-up jumper from inside the arc keeping the gap at 15, with Essex leading 48-33.
Second Half
The sides went back-and-forth with the scores early in the third. Johnston continued to pile on points from inside the arc, before Tudor found nothing but net from outside.
Essex showed no signs of slowing down, and despite the game becoming more evenly matched in the third, managed to make it a 20-point game as Tudor took over. She had five points after the first half, but exploded with 14 in the third with Rebels holding strong at 71-48 going into the final stanza.
Riders started with eight unanswered points in the fourth. Elise Tweedie laid in off the pick-and-roll before Taylor O’Brien splashed two shots from deep.
O’Brien continued to dominate at both ends as Leicester fought back with an 11-5 run. The the floodgates truly opened for Leicester.
Ashby and O’Brien, Leicester’s two most influential players throughout the game, drained another three triples and Essex were stunned as they saw their double-digit lead vanquished. Rebels now only led by six as 76-70 – the first time the gap was in single figures since the first quarter.
Essex showed composure from the foul-line and booked their spot in the Betty Codona Trophy Semi-Finals with an 84-70 win.
Player of the Game
Kat Tudor was tonight’s Player of the Game, helping blow away Leicester with an incredible offensive display in the second half, and sealing the result with a bunch of clutch free-throws.
| Player | Team | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Kat Tudor | Essex Rebels | 24 | 3 | 1 |
| Tyra Whitehead | Essex Rebels | 13 | 13 | 4 |
| McKenzie Johnston | Leicester Riders | 18 | 4 | 7 |
| Samantha Ashby | Leicester Riders | 21 | 6 | 2 |
London Lions 74-58 Caledonia Gladiators
London Lions second half performance has seen them reach the Trophy Semi-Finals over Caledonia Gladiators, claiming a 16-point win after a third quarter scoring spur.
Megan Gustafsson’s perfect night on the floor with 13 points and eight boards was one of a few strong Lions performances in the game. Samantha Roscoe carried the scoring load for the Gladiators in the first half, before Laken James tried to rein the hosts back in late on.
Starting Fives
London Lions: Ivana Katanic, Katsiaryna Snytsina, Holly Winterburn, Megan Gustafson, Karlie Samuelson.
Caledonia Gladiators: Samantha Roscoe, Hannah Robb, Laken James, Ariadna Pujol, Kirsty Brown.
First Half
Caledonia Gladiators flew out of the blocks and suckerpunched Lions with a 9-0 run to tip off the game. Karlie Samuelson got the game going for the Lions at the line before Katsiaryna Snytsina drilled a three to make it a two-score game.
London’s subs made the impact after checking in, and after Sam Roscoe scored Gladiators final basket of the quarter, Temi Fágbénlé, Abby Meyers and Savannah Wilkinson gave London their first lead of the game at 12-11.
Holly Winterburn split a pair from the foul line before Meyers stretched thee floor and poured in the triple to make it 16-11 to the Lions at the end of the first quarter.
Wilkinson opened the second with the first two buckets, before Roscoe battle to keep the Gladiators within toughing distance. She added five straight points for the visitors, but London were able to continue scoring their looks. Roscoe responded to a Snytsina three with one of her own, however London continued to keep daylight between the sides.
13 out of Caledonia’s 16 points came through the Brit, but the side couldn’t stop the league-leaders from scoring. Gustafsson kept the Lions’ side of the scoreboard ticking over and Winterburn finished of the quarter with a flourish, drilling a three before the buzzer to send the hosts into the half up 36-27.
Second Half
Mirroring the first half, Lions first points in the second half came through Samuelson at the charity stripe, sandwiched by buckets from the Gladiators.
London started to string more points in bunches and were able take their lead up to 13 points thanks to a jumper from Faye Endean. Laken James hit back against the home side with a three and one make from the line.
The Glads brought themselves back into the contest as Yevheniia Putra added six straight points to make it 49-46 with minutes to play. Snytsina and Sokhna Lo Sylla notched up scores at either end, before Samuelson sealed the third from range, giving Lions a 54-48 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
Snytsina was the first on the scoreboard in the fourth with Winterburn following up with another perfect trip to the free-throw line to reestablish Lions’ 10-point lead.
Putra continued to spearhead the Gladiator offence with another two which Gustafsson retaliated to with the catch-and-shoot two. Lions then made it a 12-2 run to start the fourth with Winterburn and Fágbénlé finding the bottom of the basket in a Caledonia dry spell – Lions now led by 22.
James finished with an eight-point flurry for the visitors, but it came to nothing more than a consolation as London saw the game out with a comfortable lead.
Fágbénlé and Meyers kept the side from the Capital a good distance ahead in the final two minutes, and London saw themselves through to the Semi-Finals as 74-58 victors.
Player of the Game
Megan Gustafson was the Player of the game in this one going perfect from the field and the foul line to finish just shy of a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds.
| Player | Team | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Megan Gustafson | London Lions | 13 | 8 | 0 |
| Katsiaryna Snytsina | London Lions | 10 | 6 | 9 |
| Laken James | Caledonia Gladiators | 18 | 8 | 2 |
| Samantha Roscoe | Caledonia Gladiators | 19 | 1 | 1 |