Wins for Lions, Suns, Archers and Pride – Women’s…

WBBL Championship
Caledonia Pride 93-83 Sheffield Hatters (19-19, 43-39, 67-60)
(Pride – James 31, Edwards 24, Mcgarrahan 14 ; Hatters – Naylor 24, Gayle 21, Fong Lyew Quee 15)

WBBL Championship
Durham Palatinates 73-75 Sevenoaks Suns (20-17, 41-37, 46-49)
(Palatinates – Bennett 23, Elderkin 20, Wayne 11; Suns – Carr 24, Busch 19, Thompson 10)

WBBL Championship
Nottingham Wildcats 73-81 Cardiff Met Archers (18-19, 37-43, 58-62)
(Wildcasts – Gyles 27, Pannell 19, Edmonds 14; Archers – Hatch 33, Marchizotti 17, Jorgensen 14)

WBBL Championship
London Lions 96-48 Manchester Met Mystics (28-14, 55-23, 75-35)
(Lions – Breen 21, Beckford-Norton 15, Winterburn 11; Mystics – Jones 12, Allen 12, Akra 9)

London Lions remain unbeaten in the league, Sevenoaks Suns scraped past Durham Palatinates in a thriller and there were wins for Caledonia Pride and Cardiff Met Archers in an action-packed Sunday of WBBL Championship action.

The day’s early tip-off saw Sheffield Hatters travel up to Scotland to face Caledonia Pride. The two sides couldn’t be separated early on as they both scored 19 points in the opening quarter. Pride were able to get their noses ahead in the second as they went into the half-time break 43-39 ahead.

Pride extended their lead against third-placed Hatters after the break. They scored 24 points for the second consecutive quarter to hold a 67-60 lead going into the last. They added 26 more in the fourth to secure a 10-point, 93-83 win.

Laken James starred for Pride in a superb double-double performance of 31 points and 11 assists. Helen Naylor finished with a double-double of her own for Hatters with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Second-placed Sevenoaks Suns needed overtime to squeeze past Durham Palatinates in the day’s second encounter. Palatinates led 20-17 after the first and 41-37 at half-time as an upset looked to be on the cards.

Suns, however, responded well in the third quarter. They won the period 12-5 to lead 49-46 going into the last. Palatinates fought back in the last to level the game at 61-61 to force a period of overtime. Suns were able to get over the line thanks to two late Cat Carr free throws.

It was Carr that finished with a game-high 24 points for Suns whilst Katie Bennett led the scoring for Palatinates with 23 points.

London Lions breezed past Manchester Met Mystics to remain unbeaten at the top of the WBBL Championship. The side from the capital scored 28 points in the first quarter and 27 in the second to lead 55-23 at half-time.

Lions scored 41 more points over the next two quarters to completely blow away Mystics in a typically ruthless display. Cassie Breen scored a game-high 21 points for the home side whilst Shanice Beckford-Norton also impressed with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

In the day’s final tip-off, Nottingham Wildcats hosted Cardiff Met Archers. Much like the first game of the day, the teams could barely be separated after a tight first quarter. Archers led 19-18 after the opening period.

Archers kicked on in the second, winning the quarter 24-19 to open up a six-point lead at half-time. Wildcats fought back in the third, scoring 21 points and limiting Archers to 19 to reduce the deficit to four. Archers played out the game well in the last to win 81-73.

Shannon Hatch scored a massive 33 points for Archers whilst Lauren Saiki performed all over the court with an outstanding triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.