Both Brent Bulls and CoLA Southwark Pride can still win D1W, and the pair meet for what could be a title decider on Sunday. Final placings ahead of the post-season are also on the line, though Barking and Reading Rockets are already confirmed for a bottom two finish.
We take a look at all the weekend's match-ups below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
Going into the final weekend of the WNBL1 regular season, Brent and CoLA Southwark Pride are the two teams battling it out for the league crown.
Even though reigning regular season champions Ipswich are currently joint top, they have played all their league fixtures and the loss they suffered to Bristol Academy Flyers ruled them out of retaining this season’s title.
Brent travel to Loughborough Riders on Saturday before heading to CoLA a day later knowing that two wins - with the latter needing to be by 10 points or more – will hand them the WNBL1 title.
Anything less, and the league trophy heads to Southwark for the first time since 2022.
American guard Lindsey Cleary (20.5PPG, 9.7RPG) and the Bulls are determined to bring the title to the north west part of the capital for the first time but not to lose track of the mission at hand.
Cleary says that the team’s mentality is still focusing on one game at a time as they head into the biggest double-header in the club’s existence.
“Our mentality is to focus on one game at a time,” Cleary said. “We’ve worked hard for this opportunity, so we are enjoying the process that leads to the fight for the title.
“But it’s just one step towards being the team we can be.”
It marks a dramatic conclusion to one of the most exciting WNBL1 seasons in its history, with incredible action, several twists and turns all leading to a potential championship decider, if Brent can get past the Riders on Saturday.
Whilst the stage may be set for the Bulls to make a dramatic final weekend charge to glory, don't bank on Pride to play by the script. Five-point winners when the sides met in the reverse fixture to open the season back in late September, the last time CoLA lost on their own court was back in 29 October 2023.
That was a 51-45 victory to the then Thames Valley, now London Cavaliers. The last time CoLA lost on their own court by this weekend's required 10 points or more? 16 October 2022. Hardly a common occurrence, to say the least.
For head coach Jackson Gibbons, he's eager to stress that from Pride's perspective, it's business as usual: "Our focus is to win one game at a time, it’s been the same all season. Try to go 1-0 each weekend.
"This weekend is no different."
Between Ayla Habbal (16.7PPG, 4.2APG), Adaora Dioramma (11.1PPG, 9.8RPG), Chandera Jones-Aryeh (9.7PPG, 6.6RPG, 5.2APG) plus the rest of a talented roster, CoLA have the firepower to get the job done despite the potential fairy tale ending for their cross-town rivals.
But Brent have a chance, and that's all you can ask for at this stage of the season.
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Sunday's blockbuster still hangs in the balance based on the outcome of Brent's trip to Loughborough Riders (10-10) on Saturday afternoon.
The Riders can finish on 24 points with Manchester and Bristol if they can collect a pair of wins from the weekend, putting tiebreakers into play to decide fifth, sixth and seventh.
That means the hosts have plenty to play for, even if their success means Sunday's showdown instead becomes a dead rubber.
Two defeats for the Riders, however, and that opens the door for Worcester Wolves (10-11) to sneak into seventh spot.
The Wolves travel to London Cavaliers (7-13), who are unable to make the post-season even if they grab success in both their games this weekend.
Whilst all eyes could well be on City of London Academy on Sunday, there is one other game on the slate to end the weekend, with Loughborough and London Cavaliers both finishing their double-headers, and with it, the regular season for D1W.
3pm - Loughborough Riders vs Brent Bulls - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
5pm - London Cavaliers vs Worcester Wolves - LIVE STATS
1:30pm - CoLA Southwark Pride vs Brent Bulls - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
3pm - Loughborough Riders vs London Cavaliers - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
Live stream details will be added as they become available
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Main image credit - Flo Alalade
Brent CoLA preview by John Hobbs
