Thompson with the big thumbs up to BBC

Fans are set for a festive treat this weekend as six teams face-off across three days of dramatic action.

In a rare Friday showdown, Team Northumbria host Caledonia Pride in the first of two fixtures that will see the sides do battle at Sport Central twice over the weekend.

The Championship encounter will be streamed live on BBC Sport and for Pride’s Sarah Thomson it’s the perfect opportunity to show a national audience what women’s basketball is all about.

“Regular national media coverage is what we’re all striving for. It’s great that the BBC is broadcasting a selection of games on their website.

“The profile of the league has increased dramatically over the past couple of seasons with clubs regularly live streaming games.

“It’s vital for the women’s game to showcase the league to a wider audience. Moving forward it would be great to see just as many women’s games as the men’s on the BBC.”

Caledonia enter the weekend ranked third in bench scoring and being able to share the workload could prove vital with two important contests separated by just 72 hours.

“Recovery will be key,” stated Thomson.

“We’re a deep squad and well used to playing many away games so I think that should work to our advantage.

“For us, our biggest focus is to find consistency. We are a very different team from last year and we’re still trying to find our feet and what works for us.

“When we stick to our values and really lock-in we have been successful.”

Despite a somewhat stuttering opening stretch to the season by Northumbria, Alison Gorrell has been the model of consistency for the North East outfit.

The league leader in steals is keen to make the road team earn every point: “We need to execute defensively, we have to make every basket difficult for them,” demanded Gorrell.

“At the start of the season we had some tough losses. We were a new team getting to know each other. Having had more time together, however, we’re starting to learn and adjust. Those losses will help propel us forward for the rest of the season.

“I’ve no doubt both coaches will make adjustments between the two games at the weekend. But as players it doesn’t change too much, we expect to execute both games.”

Elsewhere, Nottingham Wildcats welcome Leicester Riders in a mouth-watering Cup match-up. Both sides enter the weekend full of confidence knowing only 40 minutes separates them from a finals berth.

On Sunday, Sevenoaks Suns host BA London Lions before Team Northumbria and Caledonia Pride round out the weekend. The final game of the weekend promises to be a cracker with a place in the Cup Final at stake.

WBBL Fixtures Friday

Northumbria v Pride – 5:00PM

WBBL Fixtures Saturday

Wildcats v Riders (Cup) – 7:00PM

WBBL Fixtures Sunday

Suns v Lions – 3:00PM

Northumbria v Pride (Cup) – 4:00PM

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