Energetic, explosive and a running, jumping highlight reel, Shanice Beckford-Norton has made Birmingham her playground in the last 12 months, winning last year’s WBBL Cup Final with the London Lions and taking home silver from the Commonwealth Games in the summer.
As intense as they come, Beckford-Norton is tough and she’ll have you on the edge of your seat every second she’s on the floor on Sunday afternoon as she sets the tone on both ends of the hardwood for the London Lions.
“It’s exciting to be going back to Birmingham, but the most exciting part about it is getting to play in front of that crowd again.” The Lions captain said.
“We played in front of a record crowd for our final last year, and the energy was just amazing. To have that much support was really special, and to be sharing this year’s final with our men’s team is going to make it even more so. I’m proud of the London Lions having two teams here.
“Both teams have had really challenging years with busy schedules in this country and competing in Europe, but we’re here to dominate and that’s what we want to do in the final.”
Locked in from the second she arrives in the arena, Beckford-Norton knows what it takes to win at this level as she led the Lions to all four major titles last season for the first time in WBBL history.
Reflecting on last year’s final, the Great Britain international described that winning feeling, and how tough a challenge she is expecting from the Leicester Riders in Sunday’s showdown.
“To get to lift that Cup is an amazing feeling, but its more special because of the anticipation beforehand, trying to guess who the MVP is, celebrating their win and then lifting the Cup with the team and having time to celebrate. Those were amazing memories and we want more this year.
“Leicester are a really good unit. They have a great squad and they’ve come together really well as a group to show what they can do this year. It has the makings of a really exciting final, but we’re definitely ready to defend our title and seriously motivated to show what we can do.
“Being captain of this team means everything to me. We’ve grown so much together on and off the court and we’ve become a great group of players and friends in the way we carry ourselves and support each other. We have a lot of fight in us and that’s what makes us a great team.”