WBBL Championship
Cardiff Met Archers 62-91 Leicester Riders (17-23, 29-45, 45-66)
(Archers: Hatch, 17; James, 13; Bunyan, 9 — Riders: Arlen, 24; Robb, 20; Eadsforth-Yates, 18)
WBBL Championship
Sevenoaks Suns 86-62 Manchester Met Mystics (31-18, 49-30, 73-44)
(Suns: Bradshaw, 24; Busch, 18; Monakana, 14 — Mystics: Keltos, 28; Robinson, 8; Abbott, 7)
WBBL Championship
Essex Rebels 74-64 Newcastle Eagles (19-14, 43-33, 60-43)
(Rebels: Munns, 17; Turner, 14; Freeman, 12 — Eagles: Justinak, 21; Lewis, 19; Nolan, 11)
WBBL Championship
Oaklands Wolves 60-83 B. Braun Sheffield Hatters (20-26, 32-43, 49-67)
(Wolves: Gould, 14; Smith/George, 13; Sarson, 11 — Hatters: Gayle, 19; Murphy, 15; Naylor, 13)
Leicester Riders put the pressure on league leading London Lions with a 91-62 win over Cardiff Met Archers at Archers Arena on Saturday.
Ashley Arlen dominated with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Riders.
It was a scrappy opening four minutes, as Issy Bunyan and Shannon Hatch provided the early scoring for the hosts, while Oliana Squires gave the Riders their first real cushion with a 12-8 lead thanks to a midrange jumper.
A 6-0 run from the Riders, capped by a score from Arlen gave the visitors an 18-10 lead with 2:28 remaining, en route to go in front 23-17 after one.
Mara Marchizotti got the first score of the second period, with a score inside for the Archers, only for Leicester to respond with another 6-0 run to take a 27-19 cushion.
However, both sides struggled to find their rhythm at the offensive end in the second quarter as the Riders managed to hold on to their comfortable eight-point gap.
The visitors then extended their lead to double-digits with 4:17 left in the half thanks to a jumper from McKenzie Johnston as Cardiff’s struggles continued from the field.
Taking a sizable 45-29 lead into the third quarter, Leicester’s superiority only grew as the third period went on.
The Riders were efficient from the field, shooting 48% overall and defensively, they were organised and continued to make life difficult for Cardiff.
A three-pointer from Jess Eadsforth-Yates gave Riders a 60-38 lead with 3:09 remaining, which was part of an 8-0 burst leading to a 66-45 cushion after three and sealed the win as Leicester remained second.
Sevenoaks Suns made it eight WBBL Championship wins in a row with an 86-62 win over Manchester Met Mystics at TASIS.
Leading from start to finish, it was a comfortable victory for the Suns against a Mystics side still searching for their first win in 13 games of the WBBL Championship season.
Araion Bradshaw led the Suns with 24 points and nine assists with Renee Busch going 4/7 from the three-point line for 18.
Sam Keltos provided the main offensive weapon for the Mystics with 28 points and 11 rebounds, but was the only player in double figures.
The Suns raced out to an early 10-0 start thanks to two three-pointers before Keltos finally got the Mystics off the mark with a triple from the wing.
However, the visitors struggled on offence in the opening exchanges of first quarter, only managing four field goal attempts in the first four minutes, with Sevenoaks turning intense defence into easy transition buckets.
Out of an early timeout, Manchester were more composed and thanks to Keltos – who scored 12 of Mystics first 14 points – kept her side interested.
But at the other end the Suns were consistent, offensively, and led by Busch, who hit three triples for 13 points, they took a 31-18 lead after one.
Despite the Mystics getting on the board first in the second, the Suns’ advantage would only grow as the speed of Bradshaw and the overall inside presence was proving too much for Manchester in the first two minutes.
And Sevenoaks’ pressure and consistency paid off with 4:57 left as sublime ball movement led to a score under the basket from Amelia Hopkins to give the hosts a 44-23 cushion.
There was a positive spell for the visitors to end the second period, but the hosts were in form control at the half.
Bradshaw undoubtedly got the highlight score of the opening stages of the third quarter as she got the steal and used the Euro step to create space between her and her defender to get the lay-up.
It was a showcase of what was a particularly scrappy quarter from both teams but the Suns managed to find ways to score, a three from Janice Monakana extended the lead to 67-36 with 3:31 to play.
And as the third quarter ended, Sevenoaks took a 73-44 cushion with them as all 11 players saw playing time.
Even though the Suns enjoyed a sizable lead, Bradshaw showed no signs of slowing down, dancing her way through the paint and finishing with the floater to give her side a 75-46 lead.
Keltos continued to keep the score respectable, as she drained a three in isolation, but despite the effort, the gap was too great.
Essex Rebels strengthened their playoff aspirations with a 74-64 win over Newcastle Eagles at the Essex Sports Arena.
The win was a measure of revenge for the Rebels after the Eagles knocked them out of the WBBL Trophy last week at the quarter-final stage.
They did so with a dominating second quarter, which proved to be the catalyst in the win.
Ashleigh Munns led the winners with 17 points, supported by 14 for Daniella Turner.
Maggie Justinak hit five three-pointers as she paced Newcastle with 21 points.
In a physical opening, Andrea Kohlhaas finally opened Rebels’ account after nearly two minutes of action with Antionette Lewis responding for the Eagles on the next possession.
After a few minutes of bucket trading, Tia Freeman handed Essex their first gap with a three-pointer that started an 8-2 run, which forced Newcastle coach Fernandez to call a timeout.
The visitors’ fortunes improved from the field, but after one, the Rebels had a 19-14 lead.
And it only got better for the hosts in the second quarter as they turned organised defence, where they forced Newcastle into difficult shots into scores at the other end.
An easy score inside from Claire Paxton handed the hosts their first double-digit lead of the game at 30-20 only for Chloe Gaynor to answer right back for the Eagles.
It started a 7-0 run for Newcastle, capped off by a three from Justinak only for the Rebels to hit back and at the half, they restored their double-digit cushion back.
And the Rebels’ lead grew in the third quarter as an 8-0 run saw them lead 51-33 to put the hosts out of sight.
From there, the Eagles were not able to get it to single figures again, as Essex gained a vital win in front of their home fans.
B. Braun Sheffield Hatters kept their top four hopes going as they secured an 83-60 victory over Oaklands Wolves at Oaklands College.
Georgia Gayle led the winners with 19 points and nine asissts, with Karly Murphy exploding for a 15-point, 17-rebound double-double.
The exciting offensive duo of Grace George and Jorjah Smith combined to give Oaklands an early 6-2 start as they attacked Sheffield with a high-tempo brand of basketball.
The Hatters recovered from a subpar start and eventually took the lead thanks to veteran Helen Naylor and at the midway point of the first quarter, she scored inside to give her side a 17-12 lead.
However Beth Sarson – coming back to Oaklands following a spell with Leicester Riders – and Smith combined to tie the game at 17-17 with 3:37 left.
The Hatters though finished the first quarter strongly and took a 26-20 cushion after one.
It was a lead they kept throughout the second quarter, but for Sheffield, they couldn’t shake off the Wolves as Smith and Sarson made life difficult for the visitors.
However, a breakthrough for the Hatters, as they went on a 9-0 run, with Karly Murphy at the helm to give her side a 37-26 advantage with 3:29 left in the half.
The hosts would attempt to claw their way back before the half, but they trailed 43-32 at the interval.
It was the third period, where the Hatters went up a gear and pulled away from the stubborn Oaklands unit as a 12-4 spurt, capped by a lay-up from Hannah Shaw handed Sheffield a 60-47 cushion.
The visitors took a huge 67-49 into the final quarter, where they saw out the game against an Oaklands side that put up a good fight for the first two quarters before running out of steam in the second half.
Cassidy Gould led Oaklands with 14 points.
Two more games left in the WBBL Championship to conclude Round 16 on Sunday. To catch all the action, please like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.