Wildcats claw past Palatinates, Gladiators squash Giants, Riders dominate Archers

Nottingham Wildcats, Caledonia Gladiators and Leicester Riders all picked up wins in the British Basketball League Women’s Championship.

Durham Palatinates 65 – 75 Nottingham Wildcats

Starting Fives:

Durham Palatinates: Janika Griffith Wallace, Elle Hendershot, Eliza Brault, Katie Bennett, Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby

Nottingham Wildcats: Abbey Whitehouse, Mari Stewart, Jessica Wayne, Brooke Bjelko, Jiselle Havas

Nottingham Wildcats claimed their third win in a row with after beating Durham Palatinates 75-65, as they continue to push into the top half of the table.

First Half:

The first quarter saw the Wildcats start strongly out of the blocks, with Brooke Bjelko being the dominant figure of the quarter.

Nottingham had a two-point lead heading into the second quarter, after a strong fightback from the Palatinates.

Similar to the first quarter, the Wildcats had the stronger start, but the Palatinates reeled their lead back in before it got out of reach, thanks to a strong showing from Janika Griffith Wallace.

The Wildcats held on to a four-point advantage going into the second half.

Second Half:

Durham Palatinates clawed their way back in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to a single point, before the Wildcats showed their class to push further in front once more.

A strong team performance in the penultimate quarter saw them extend their lead back out to eight points, the biggest of the game at that point.

A comeback from the Palatinates did not materialise. Jiselle Havas showed off her impressive free-throw accuracy, shooting eight out of 10 from the line, and helping The Nottingham Wildcats secure victory.

It was a close game, but with the form The Wildcats have been in recently, momentum was on their side to help them over the line.

Player of the Game:

Nottingham’s Mari Stewart put on an impressive performance which played a vital role in the victory, posting 19 points and 14 assists.

Team Player Points Rebounds Assists
Durham Palatinates Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby 17 9 1
Durham Palatinates Katie Bennett 11 3 7
Nottingham Wildcats Mari Stewart 19 14 0
Nottingham Wildcats Jessica Wayne 13 11 7

Manchester Giants 52-65 Caledonia Gladiators

Starting Fives:

Manchester Giants: Brooklynn Mcalear-Fanus, Georgia Anderson, Myah Pace, Hannah Shaw, Sydney Hunter

Caledonia Gladiators: Samantha Roscoe, Hannah Robb, Ariadna Pujol, Laken James, Kirsty Brown

Caledonia Gladiators closed the gap on league leaders London Lions as they ruled off their third win in a row with a 65-52 victory against Manchester Giants.

First Half:

The Gladiators dominated the first quarter with a strong team showing, and held a 17-point lead at one point.

But the Giants picked up their form towards the end of the quarter and whittled it down to a 13-point deficit.

The Giants also had a slow start to the second quarter but picked up the pace to launch a comeback.

With help from Hannah Shaw, they scored 23 points to end the half only trailing by six points.

Second Half:

The Giants came out swinging for the second half, with Shaw helping close the points game once again to only two points.

But Samantha Roscoe had other plans, as she scored eight points to extend the Gladiators’ lead to 13 points heading into the final quarter.

The final frame was quiet in the scoring department, with neither team managing to get into the double digits, scoring a combined 13 points between them.

The scoring drought helped hand victory to the Gladiators by 14 points.

Player of the Game:

Caledonia Gladiator’s Samantha Roscoe’s impressive scoring run in the third quarter proved to be a turning point, and she ended the game with 16 points, six rebounds and an assist.

Team Player Points Rebounds Assists
Manchester Giants Myah Pace 16 6 1
Manchester Giants Hannah Shaw 11 3 1
Caledonia Gladiators Samantha Roscoe 15 6 4
Caledonia Gladiators Hannah Robb 13 6 2

Leicester Riders 86-40 Cardiff Met Archers

Starting Fives:

Leicester Riders: Taylor O’Brien, Rayven Peeples, Marissa Hamilton, Samantha Ashby, Mckenzie Johnston

Cardiff Met Archers: Abigail Yunker, Cami Barone, Solene Lemoigne, Lara Habling, Jenna Hoschouer

Leicester Riders dominated Cardiff Met Archers in an 86-40 in a victory, as the top three side edged closer to the top of the table.

First Half:

The first half saw a dominant performance by the Riders, who went up 22-7 in the first quarter.

It was a similar story in the second frame, the Riders kept up the pace.

Rayven Peeples was the stand-out player of the first half with almost a quarter of Leicester’s points coming from her.

The Archers found themselves at the wrong end of a 28-point deficit at the half, trailing 46-18.

Second Half:

Once again, The Riders came out swinging for the second half. Peeples started strong by adding another eight points to her tally.

The Archers tried to fight back with Solene Lemoigne, but to no avail.

The gap continued to grow and by the end of the third quarter, Cardiff Met trailed by 36 points.

The fourth quarter continued in the same vein,

There was no slowing down from the Riders, who scored 21 points and won the match by almost 50 points, 86-40.

Player of the Game:

Rayven Peeples helped Leicester Riders to victory with a dominant performance, putting up 18 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Team Player Points Rebounds Assists
Leicester Riders Rayven Peeples 18 13 3
Leicester Riders Mckenzie Johnston 10 11 4
Cardiff Met Archers Solene Lemoigne 10 2 2
Cardiff Met Archers Lara Habling 11 5 0

With the new season here, you can still get your British Basketball fix by following the League on social media or heading to our YouTube channel to relive all of the best moments from the current season.