Anglia Ruskin moved within two wins of the D1W regular season title after a win this weekend against Solent, but they still need to navigate tricky road games against Reading and Solent to get over the line. As Ipswich continued to put pressure on ARU, we take a look back at all of the weekend's games.
Anglia Ruskin saw off Team Solent on Sunday thanks to 23 points from American Madeline Homoly.
After an even opening quarter, ARU began moving through the gears to lead 33-28 by the half and 60-40 after the 3rd quarter. That left the hosts with healthy advantage to work with over the final 10 minutes, further padding their lead for their 14th win of the season.
Homoly's 23 points went with five rebounds and four assists as Jazmin Gyulai also played well to finish with 16 points. Silvia Cante top scored for Solent, she had 15.
The battle for the title remains a tight one and after putting up healthy numbers last week, Harriet Welham and Danielle Cazey both remained in fine form, scoring 40 and 33 respectively as Ipswich beat Loughborough Riders 123-79. Charlotte Redhead also enjoyed a triple-double for the hosts, recording 22 points, 13 boards and 12 assists.
Reading Rockets continue to make a run at the #3 seed as they recorded a pair of W's to push their win streak to six games. Saturday saw the Rockets beat Southwark 68-48 thanks to 23 points from Lucia Serrano Ranz before Candela Hermida Núñez stepped up on Sunday, scoring 29 points in an 85-56 win over Nottingham Trent University.
Despite their Sunday loss to ARU, Solent managed one win on the weekend as Saturday provided the Kestrels with a 60-53 win over BA London Lions II. Krisztina Velkey's 17 point, 13 rebound double-double was key for the hosts in that one, as BA's talented youngster Cynthia Adebayo enjoyed a team high 15 points.
And rounding out the weekend, Bristol's Flo Ward helped her side to a 67-51 win over Thames Valley to keep the Flyers in the hunt for the #5 seed. Ward was in great form as she dropped a game high 29 points to go with four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
2:00pm - Southwark Pride 48 - 68 Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
3:00pm - Ipswich Basketball 123 - 79 Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS
3:00pm - Team Solent Kestrels 60 - 53 BA London Lions II - LIVE STATS
1:00pm - Anglia Ruskin University 85 - 61 Team Solent Kestrels - LIVE STATS
3:30pm - Bristol Academy Flyers 67 - 51 Thames Valley Cavaliers - LIVE STATS
4:30pm - Reading Rockets 85 - 56 Nottingham Trent University - LIVE STATS
Just two weeks remain of the D1W regular season, with five games set to take place next weekend.
A trio of games make up Saturday's schedule, with Reading taking a trip to Solent, Barking playing host to Nottingham and Thames Valley welcoming Southwark Pride.
Reading host Anglia Ruskin in the pick of Sunday's action as the Rhinos look to move within one game of the D1W title if they knock off the Rockets. The day's other game is in the Capital as Southwark host Bristol.
Main image credit - Luke Simcock
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