Sundberg is selected as Coach of the Month

LEICESTER Riders Women’s head coach Jesper Sundberg has been selected as the Molten WBBL Coach of the Month.

Sundberg’s Riders went a perfect 3-0 in November to top their WBBL Cup group and set up a semi-final tie with Cardiff Met Archers.

They did so against formidable opposition in the North Group, seeing off local rivals Nottingham Wildcats, as well as Newcastle eagles and Manchester Met Mystics.

Riders currently lead the league on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, averaging 74 points per game while giving up just 54, for a margin that doesn’t come close to being matched at this stage.

Most impressively, they held both Wildcats and Mystics to under 50 points while trailing for only about five minutes in those two games, and restricting their opponents to a stifling defensive field goal percentage of just 25 per cent.

But when Sundberg needed his team to score they did so, beating Newcastle 96-71 to round off the month with an irrepressible surge over the last eight minutes of the game.

For the first time this season, they found themselves trailing for considerable periods at the eagles Community Arena, but they emerged from their huddle to win the fourth quarter by pouring in 36 points and conceding just nine while returning to their defensive foundation and holding their hosts scoreless for six minutes.

Another indicator of the brand of basketball that Sundberg has his team playing comes from the fact that they have twice had five players scoring in double-figures, and have had seven different double-figure scorers already this campaign, with numerous threats across the floor in a balanced offence led by Kate Oliver and Holly Winterburn.

Meanwhie, Nottingham Wildcats’ Jasmine Joyner has been selected as the Molten WBBL Player of the Month.