Riders lose twice after a year of going undefeated
DEFEATS IN TROPHY AND WBBL IN UNDER 24 HOURS
AFTER going over a year undefeated in all competitions, Leicester Riders women lost twice in under 24 hours, including being knocked out of the WBBL Trophy in their semi-final.
Riders were overcoming the loss of Australian centre Kate Oliver and Icelandic forward Sara Hinriksdottir, who returned home due to Covid, but had available their American replacements Maya Brewer and Amber Smith.
But the BA London Lions made it through to the Trophy final after beating Riders 73-58 in Loughborough, ending Riders’ three-year reign as WBBL Trophy champions.
Lions came into the game in form, and this was their eighth straight win, behind a game-high 18 points from Cassie Breen, supported by a double-double of 15 assists and 11 rebounds for Kennedy Leonard. Riders were on the back foot from the start, trailing a 12-4 lead early on, and then Lions pushed the lead out to 20-8.
Leicester got to within one shot in the second period, until a 9-2 response from the Lions extended the lead back to double-figures.
And the tie was settled when Lions opened the third period with a 13-2 surge, as Breen added seven to her total, making the lead an insurmountable 54-34.
Lions will now face either Nottingham Wildcats or Manchester Met Mystics in the WBBL Trophy final.
Riders’ Holly Winterburn finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, but Riders managed just one three-pointer from 18 attempts, and turned over the ball 17 times against the Lions.
On Friday night, Riders lost on the road to Essex Rebels 82-76 in their first regular season match-up in the WBBL Championship.
It was a close game throughout but Deangelique Waithe carried the Rebels to victory with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
After a slow start, Riders head coach Jesper Sundberg made substitutions and the new American signings made an immediate impact to give Riders the lead.
Brewer hit a corner three and made a nice pass to Azania Stewart on her debut for Riders for a shortcorner jump shot. The Riders were able to win the first two quarters and finish the half with a 36-29 lead.
In the second half, Essex responded with a 14-point run to lead 46-38.
Riders’ Anna Lappenkuper and Ella Clark hit three jumpers combined to close the gap, but Essex had a 61-55 lead at the start of the fourth period.
Riders’ Hannah Robb went on a tear in the final quarter with eight consecutive points, two three-pointers and a lay-up.
However, Waithe again answered with two jump shots to extend the lead, ending Riders’ 11-game winning streak. Winterburn top scored for the Riders with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
International Ella Clark contributed a 13 points and 11 rebounds double-double, and Robb scored 13 points for the Riders.