The 2020 Betty Codona WBBL Trophy Final at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow next month will see a repeat of the 2019 edition after Durham Palatinates joined holders Leicester Riders in the showpiece game.
Leicester won a thriller 72-66 against recent WBBL Cup winners Sevenoaks Suns by executing in crunch time to get the job done. Jen Ashton, Brea Elmore, Sara Hinriksdottir and Kate Oliver all returned double-digit scores, with the latter leading the way by netting 17 points.
Meanwhile Durham outlasted Nottingham Wildcats by finding a higher gear during the last period to ease away and complete a 92-82 success. It was founded on a team-high 23 points from Dee Hayward and perhaps most tellingly, 17 points and a super six steals for Betsy MacDonald.
Wildcats’ star Jasmine Joyner was unfortunate to be on the losing team after recording one of the most sensational individual displays of the season with a stellar 32 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Meanwhile in the WBBL Championship, Manchester Mystics racked up the highest tally of the season as they smashed their way past Oaklands Wolves 111-46. A blistering 41-8 first quarter blew the visitors out of the water, with Sam Roscore putting up 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and both Dom Allen and Sara Djassi completing double-doubles.
However, the game was most memorable for Great Britain guard Georgia Jones becoming only the third player in league history to reach the landmark of 1,500 WBBL Championship points.
And a busy Sunday afternoon of WBBL Championship action saw Durham, Sheffield, Newcastle and Cardiff all pick up league wins.
It was the perfect weekend for Durham Palatinates as they followed up making the 2020 Betty Codona WBBL Trophy Final on Saturday with an 80-68 Championship success against Essex Rebels. Although the north-east franchise had to dig out a 29-point last quarter to salvage the win, with Mollie Campbell posting an excellent 18 points and 14 rebounds.
In contrast, it was a miserable weekend for Nottingham Wildcats who missed out on the Trophy Final and then slumped to an 82-64 WBBL Championship defeat at FLT Peterman Sheffield Hatters. Luiana Livulo and Asha Thomas did the damage for the hosts as they shared 36 points.
Newcastle Eagles maintained their top four spot as they eased out the still winless BA London Lions 64-49. The Eagles changed gear during the last 15 minutes and Lions couldn’t cope as Georgia Ohrdorf and Mante Kvederaviciute showed out with 22 points apiece.
Finally, Cardiff Met Archers are celebrating an important and nervy 56-51 road win at Caledonia Pride as their upturn in fortune continues. They are up into a Play-Off spot and were helped mainly by 21 points and 7 rebounds from Cristina Bigica.
