It was also a good weekend for the Cobham Cobras and Bristol Academy Flyers, who continue their winning streak in the league.
We take a look at all the weekend's match-ups below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
Reading Rockets grabbed their first win of the season as Ali Guerra-Rainford starred in the 69-59 win over Barking Abbey.
Guerra-Rainford led the way with 26 points, 12 rebounds and two steals, shooting 5/8 from three-point land, shooting 47% overall.
Veteran Krissy Karpova showed why she is one of the WNBL’s most lethal shooters, hitting three triples and stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Reading’s defence also frustrated kept Barking Abbey’s danger woman, Megan Verbeeten, as she struggled, going just 3/22 from the floor for 11 points. Alice Woodward led the hosts with 13.
Despite the win, Rockets started slowly, falling 12-8 behind after the first quarter, but a 9-0 start to the second, inspired by Karpova and Guerra-Rainford lifted them in the lead.
From there, Reading managed to maintain control despite the threat of a Barking Abbey fightback and seal their first win in seven attempts.
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In a rare Friday night game, Endeavour Ipswich (5-2) powered to a 79-69 road win over Worcester Wolves (2-5). Maddy Wormald pulled down a phenomenal 26 points and 20 rebounds.
Wormald becomes the second player to record a 20-20 game this season alongside Marlee Ball’s 20-point, 20-rebound effort for Bristol against Reading last Sunday.
Carolina Marques led Worcester with 21 points.
Bristol Academy Flyers (5-3) are without question a form team in WNBL1 and their 76-65 win over reigning playoff champions CoLA Southwark Pride (5-2) solidified that statement.
Marlee Ball was once again at the heart of everything, going for 17 points and 15 rebounds, leading five Flyers in double figures for scoring, supported by Kim Kheing’s 16 as Bristol secure their fourth straight win.
Ayla Habbal was outstanding for CoLA, leading all scorers with 34 points, however, she was the only player in double figures as the Londoners shot just 3/12 from three-point land and 12/28 from the charity stripe.
Joint-leaders CoLA’s loss was softened a little as Brent Bulls (5-2) slipped up on Saturday, losing 67-65 on the road to Cobham Cobras.
Lindsay Cleary’s lay-up attempt to force overtime missed its mark as the newly-promoted Cobras move 4-4 for the season. Nerea Iniguez hit both of her three-pointers and shot 50% from the field for her 12 points. Cleary had 21 points and 12 boards for Brent.
It allowed Loughborough Riders (5-3) to close the gap as a 16-3 finish in the final six minutes handed them a 72-59 win over Manchester Mystics. Erin Caldwell led the victors with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Eheda Hassan and Tia Freeman starred for Anglia Ruskin (5-3) as they look to string some form together before the Christmas break.
Hassan and Freeman combined for 46 points (Hassan, 25 points; Freeman, 21 points) as they beat Thames Valley Cavaliers (3-4) 78-71 at Uxbridge College.
8pm - Worcester Wolves 69-79 Endeavour Ipswich Basketball - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
2pm - Cobham Cobras 67-65 Brent Bulls - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
4:30pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers 71-78 Anglia Ruskin University - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
5pm - Barking Abbey 59-69 Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
5:30pm - Bristol Academy Flyers 76-65 CoLA Southwark Pride - LIVE STATS
1pm - Loughborough Riders 72-59 Manchester Mystics - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Charlie Dodd
