WNBL1 recap: Week 24 (26/27 March 2022) - Playoffs bracket set, streams, stats and more

The D1W regular season is now completed, with eight teams looking forward to the playoffs next weekend.

With the dust settling on this past weekend, the playoff field set ahead of the first round:

#1 CoLA Southwark Pride v #8 Bristol Flyers

#2 Loughborough Riders v #7 Team Solent Kestrels

#3 Thames Valley Cavaliers v #6 Cardiff Met Archers

#4 Ipswich v #5 Anglia Ruskin University

There's a recap of all this weekend's action below, and each result is also clickable if you wish to view the live stats.

Cardiff Met Archers II (12-9) v Thames Valley Cavaliers (15-6)

Cardiff finished their regular season in style, beating Thames Valley 68-63.

Taking their sixth game in a row, the Archers reward is a reverse of this fixture next week to open the playoffs. Heading to Uxbridge needing a win to progress, no doubt coach Wagstaff's team will have drawn plenty of confidence from this weekend's performance.

Amber Deane's 35 efficiency outing consisted of 24 points, 12 boards, and five assists, adding in six steals for good measure.

Denisa Molnar (16pts, 6ast) and Carys Roy (15pts, 7reb) both played well as reigning Player of the Week Isobel Bunyan had a quiet one, closing on five points from 2-9 shooting.

Katherine Goldsby was the leader for Thames Valley, top scoring with 21 points and narrowly missing the double-double with nine boards.

No doubt the Cavs will go away and examine this one, looking to right the wrongs in order to avoid a repeat performance next weekend as knockout basketball begins.

Elsewhere this weekend

Saturday's two games began with Loughborough Riders (17-4) beating Nottingham Trent University (2-20) 76-39.

Eimhear Morris top-scored for the hosts on 19 points as NTU's Lilly Annim led all scorers on 22.

Team Solent Kestrels (13-9) and Ipswich (15-7) split their back-to-back doubleheader, with Solent winning at home 85-82 on Saturday before Ipswich gained some revenge with a 79-64 victory on Sunday.

Faye Endean led the Kestrels' charge in their win, flirting with a triple-double before closing on 21 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals.

Ava Battese was the star on Sunday, with the Ipswich guard notching a 22 point, 11 rebound double-double.

Leaders CoLA Southwark Pride (20-2) edged London Lions II (5-17) 58-57 to enter the playoffs on a high, with Nicholle Lavinier missing a crucial free throw for the visitors with five seconds remaining.

Ana-Isabel Andersson top scored for CoLA, she had 18 points, whilst Violet Stutz chipped in 13 more off the bench.

London can still be immensely proud to have climbed to D1W safety, with Lavinier, Fatmata Janneh, Ruchae Walton and others all playing their part after the Lions looked down and out at the mid-season break.

Anglia Ruskin University (14-8) closed the regular season with a shot across the bows of the D1W playoff field as they beat #2 seeds Loughborough 69-48 behind 31 points from Katrin Hulme. 

This weekend's results:

Saturday 26 March

1:45pm - Loughborough Riders 76-39 Nottingham Trent University - LIVE STATS/LIVE STREAM

3:30pm - Team Solent Kestrels 85-82 Ipswich - LIVE STATS/LIVE STREAM

Sunday 27 March

1:15pm - Cardiff Met Archers II 68-63 Thames Valley Cavaliers - LIVE STATS

2pm - Ipswich 79-64 Team Solent Kestrels - LIVE STATS/LIVE STREAM

4pm - CoLA Southwark Pride 58-57 London Lions II - LIVE STATS

5pm - Loughborough Riders 48-69 Anglia Ruskin University

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