Suns reach 100 Championship victories as Eagles,…

WBBL Championship
Durham Palatinates 61-77 Newcastle Eagles (20-16, 26-34, 40-62)
(Palatinates – Bennett, 16, Hurtado Barbeito 13, Hendershot 13; Eagles – Horton 19, Eadsforth-Yaytes 16, Lowe 14)

WBBL Championship
Sevenoaks Suns 80-69 Nottingham Wildcats (23-24, 42-44, 61-55)
(Suns – Carr 22, Busch 21, Fritz 16; Wildcats – Pannell 20, Nicolas 12, Gyles 10)

WBBL Championship
Sheffield Hatters 124-54 Oaklands Wolves (24-13, 48-30, 77-42)

WBBL Championship
Essex Rebels 100-60 Manchester Met Mystics (25-12, 48-32, 73-48)
(Rebels – Kohlhaas 20, Waithe 18, Munns 13; Mystics – Williams 17, Bailey 15, Allen 11)

WBBL Championship
Leicester Riders 83-54 Caledonia Pride (17-23, 43-29, 64-35)
(Riders – Hamilton 18, Rouse 17, Robb 16; Phillips 18, Ranger 11, Cummins 10)

Cat Carr scored a triple double as Sevenoaks Suns overcame a stern test from Nottingham Wildcats to become the first team to reach 100 wins in the WBBL Championship.

They kept up their undefeated season record along with Sheffield Hatters who put in a dominant display on a stacked Saturday of action that also saw Newcastle Eagles and Essex Rebels open their Championship account for the season. In the day’s final game Leicester Riders defeated Caledonia Pride after an impressive defensive display.

Nottingham started the afternoon’s action well and really took the game to the Suns in the opening stages, and had some early success in the paint as they dominated the inside to start the game and take a slender lead into halftime.

The Suns found their footing on the defensive end in the second half however, and off the back of a late pair of Renee Busch threes took a strong lead into the final quarter. The Suns carried that momentum into the final quarter and ran out convincing winners as Carr rounded off her triple-double.

Carr finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as Busch added 21 points for the Suns. Brooklyn Pannell posted a team-high 20 points for the Nottingham.

Looking for their first win of the Championship in the North East derby against Durham Palatinates, Newcastle were slow to start as Durham took an early lead in the first period, however an incredible defensive effort from the Eagles in the second period saw them hold the Palatinates to only six points to draw out the half.

They then exploded into life on the offensive end to start the second half and posted 28 points in the third to take a commanding lead into the fourth, and the Eagles held on for a much-needed win.

Ebony Horton posted a game-high 19 points for the Eagles whilst Katie Bennett led Durham with 16 points.

Sheffield Hatters joined the Suns in maintaining their 100% record and went clear at the top as they made it five from five in the Championship with a dominant win over Oaklands Wolves. The Hatters built up a double-digit lead by the end of the first as they built a sizeable gap into halftime.

The rampant Hatters did not let up in the second half, and an incredible fourth quarter performance saw them outscore Oaklands 47-12 to go top of the table until Sunday at least, where London Lions will face Cardiff Met Archers.

Essex Rebels then became the second team of the day to pick up their first regular season win, as they blew aside Manchester Met Mystics in impressive fashion. The Rebels started the game on the front foot as they locked Manchester down in the first quarter, and led by Deangelique Waithe’s 12 first half points took a sizeable lead into the half.

Manchester never really found their footing on the offensive end as the Rebels held them to under 20 points in three of the four quarters. Waithe ended with 18 personal points as Andrea Kohlhaas finished the game with a game-high 20 points.

In the day’s final game Leicester Riders looked to climb up the table after a stuttering start. It was Caledonia Pride however who started the brighter of the two sides and held the lead after the first, however an excellent defensive effort saw the Riders outscore Pride 26-6 in the second.

Incredibly the Riders held Pride to only six points again in the third quarter as they racked up their third win of the Championship.

Oceana Hamilton picked up a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds whilst Sian Phillips led Pride with 18 points and nine rebounds to wrap up a huge day of WBBL action.