WBBL game posts week 7 (Week ending Nov 25th)

Thanks Gonk ... I completely forgot about this 

Sat Nov 24th 2018 - WBBL Game Reports

Essex Rebels 84 – 87 Manchester Mystics (16-26, 35-43, 56-67, 78-78) - After overtime

Manchester Mystics remain unbeaten on the road so far in this WBBL Championship campaign, prevailing through overtime to win 87-84 on a first ever trip to Essex Rebels.
Mystics had previously knocked Rebels out of the WBBL Cup, and are now joint-second in the league with a record of 5-1.
Leading scorers – Jessy Ward 34, DeAngelique Waithe 21, Cat Lutz 13 (Rebels); Evelyn Ovner 26, Georgia Jones 22, Samantha Roscoe 18 (Mystics)
Turning point – Mystics held a double-digit lead early on, but trailed approaching the final minute until Georgia Jones scored to force overtime. Once in the extra period, Samantha Roscoe made the key play to break a tie with an ‘and-one’ score to put them 85-82 in front and Rebels couldn’t manage a score under pressure on the final play.
Key stat – In a game where neither team shot well, Mystics crucially won the battle of the boards 60-54, scoring 13 second chance points compared to just six for their hosts.
Game hero(es) – Mystics welcomed back GB star Georgia Jones, fresh from Eurobasket Women 2019 qualification, and she came close to a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Evelyn Ovner led the scoring with 26 points, while Roscoe had a big double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Caledonia Pride 74-95 Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters (Cup) (14-28, 39-54, 54-70)

Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters moved into the Semi-Finals of the WBBL Cup with a convincing win on the road at Caledonia Pride.
Last season’s runners-up see their challenge ended with Sheffield edging closer to their first WBBL Cup Final.
Leading scorers – Sian Phillips/Tia Weledji/Shawnisay Millar 14 (Pride) – Helen Naylor 25, Luiana Livulo 21, Alison Gorrell 18 (Hatters)
Turning point – The Hatters made a fast start as they doubled up the home side in the opening quarter to lead by 14. Sheffield’s advantage peaked at 25 points as they pushed on to a comfortable victory.
Key stat – All five starters for Sheffield shot at least 50% in a clinical display and the defence kept their opponents to 35% as a team.
Game hero(es) – Naylor starred with a game-high 25 points along with six rebounds and five assists, while Livulo shot 8 of 10 from the floor for her 21 points and added eight rebounds with three blocks.

Oaklands Wolves 65-83 Leicester Riders (Cup) (10-26, 28-42, 48-58)

Leicester Riders advanced to the Semi-Finals of the WBBL Cup after seeing off Oaklands Wolves on the road.
Jesper Sundberg’s side joined Sheffield in the last four with a convincing display as they returned to action.
Leading scorers – Roya Rustamzada 12, Lauren Milligan/Beth Sarson/Meg Pritchard 10 (Wolves) – Kate Oliver 26, Holly Winterburn 20, Rebeca Navarro 10 (Riders)
Turning point – The Riders made a strong start with 26 points in the opening quarter to gain control in the contest. Oaklands fought back in the third, but an 8-2 run from the visitors helped secure the result.
Game hero – Oliver helped fire the Riders into the last four of the Cup with a 26-point haul to mark her return to the club in style.

Sun Nov 25th 2018 - WBBL Game Reports

Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters 104 – 57 Essex Rebels (26-12, 59-26,85-40)

The eyes of Hatters are still on the WBBL Championship title after they improved to a 6-1 league record with a comfortable home success against the rookie Rebels.
Essex came into the game off the back of their heartbreaking overtime loss on Saturday against Manchester Mystics, which almost snapped their barren spell. However they are still searching for their maiden Championship success after this setback in South Yorkshire.
Leading scorers – Helen Naylor 22, Ali Gorrell 19, Sarah Toeaina 17 (Hatters); Cat Lutz 19, Jessy Ward 8, Charleene Tom 6 (Rebels)
Turning point – There wasn’t one as Hatters jumped out of the blocks in style and raced their way into a double-digit lead within 5 minutes. They never had cause to look back.
Key stat – Hatters had 50 points in the paint and also 39 on the fast-break. They didn’t need to shoot well from range with this kind of production elsewhere.
Game hero(es) – There were a trio of big performances with Helen Naylor shooting beautifully to harvest 22 points (9 of 13), while Sarah Toeaina had a towering 17 points, 10 boards and 6 assists. Meanwhile there is no stopping Ali Gorrell with 19 points. 7 steals, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Leicester Riders 93 – 68 Caledonia Pride (18-21,44-38,66-49)

It’s been a positive couple of days for Leicester Riders after they followed up moving into the WBBL Semi-Finals on Saturday with a convincing league win.
They may have started slowly, but led by a breathtaking showing from Holly Winterburn, they never looked back once they woke up.
Leading scorers – Holly Winterburn 29, Brea Elmore 17, Rebecca Navarro 11 (Riders); Pollyanna Storie 14, Kai-Brith Kalda 12, Shawnisay Millar 10, Hannah Robb 10 (Pride)
Turning point – Riders had a stone cold start and found themselves stalled on the start line as they fell 6-14 behind. They re covered to tie just before the end of Q1. Then, they took a firm grip of the game with a super 11-0 burst at the start of the second quarter.
Key stat – The 28 turnovers for Pride which was twice as many as Riders told a story. As did Riders grabbing a fabulous 23 steals.
Game hero(es) – Having signed with the Oregon Ducks to play in the NCAA next year, all eyes are on Holly Winterburn more than ever. And she responded with a blistering 29 points, 7 assists and 7 steals.

Durham Palatinates 75 – 54 BA London Lions (25-12,41-29,60-37)

There was joy for Lee Davie and his Palatinates players as they made light work of despatching BA London Lions with a powerful home performance and victory.
Durham collected their second WBBL Championship win of the campaign as they took full advantage of Lions being short-handed without Diana Voynova. The club and the Bulgarian centre have mutually agreed to the player taking a break due to other commitments.
Leading scorers – Betsy McDonald 26, Monika Bosilj 23, Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby 16, (Palatinates); Ijeoma Ofomata 12, Kristie Velasquez 10, Loren Christie 8 (Lions)
Turning point – Lions were never able to gain a foothold in the contest. They went behind early by double-digits and never really recovered as they struggled to get back into contention – prior to flat-lining offensively in the third period.
Key stat – Lions lost the rebounding battle by 56-44 and Durham looked after the ball really well with just 9 turnovers.
Game hero(es) – It was a typical captain’s performance from Monika Bosilj as she coralled 23 points, 12 boards and 5 assists, Betsy MacDonald dropped 26 points and Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby claimed a double-double of 16 points and 12 boards.

Nottingham Wildcats 73-81 Manchester Mystics (Cup) (18-14,38-38,52-62)

Former WBBL Cup winners Manchester Mystics are now just one victory away from making the showpiece Final once more after riding their way to an impressive road win at Wildcats.
While the first-half was tight, Mystics shifted up a gear after the interval and Wildcats struggled to keep pace.
Leading scorers – Chelsey Shumpert 34, Jasmine Joyner 19, Lana Doran 11 (Wildcats); Evelyn Ovner 25, Georgia Jones 20, Natalie Chaloner 13 (Mystics)
Turning point – Mystics took over at the start of the second half and with Wildcats struggling to find any production behind Shumpert and Joyner, they could not keep pace.
Key stat – Four players into double-digits for Mystics showed how tricky it was for the Wildcats defence to shut down the visitors who had more scoring options.
Game hero(es) –The loss was tough on Wildcats guard Shumpert who racked up that 34-point haul, but Mystics had Evelyn Ovner with the absolute hot-hand. She fired 25 points and dropped an amazing 9 of 10 from the floor – as well as adding 8 boards. Georgia Jones chipped in with an all-action 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

There were some exceptional individual performances in both the WBBL Cup and WBBL Championship this week, including no fewer than four players who grabbed their first starting berths of the season.

Holly Winterburn (Leicester Riders)
Having recently signed to play NCAA College ball for the prestigious University of Oregon, Winterburn celebrated by showing exactly why she is so highly rated with a stunning display against Caledonia Pride. The guard came up with a stellar 29 points, as well as a super 7 assists and 7 steals.

Helen Naylor (Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters)
The only player in this week’s fab five who has already featured as a starter this season, Naylor was in sparkling form for Hatters as they swept aside Rebels. The home win was fuelled by the winger dropping 22 points from 9 of 13 shooting, as well as handing out 6 assists and grabbing 4 boards.

Evelyn Ovner (Manchester Mystics)
The Manchester Mystics’ star could have made the starting line-up twice after putting up a couple of fantastic weekend displays. After a classy showing in the league against Essex, Ovner erupted for 25 points in the Cup Quarter-Final against Wildcats, going a spectacular 9 of 10 from the field and also adding 8 rebounds.

Luiana Livulo (Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters)
The Portuguese powerhouse was on-song for her team in their big road triumph in Scotland against Caledonia Pride. Livulo was unstoppable inside as she harvested 21 points from a fine 8 of 10 shooting effort. Her line was improved further with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.

Kate Oliver (Leicester Riders)
The centre was on fire in the WBBL Cup Quarter-Final clash at Oaklands as she helped Riders reach the last four of the competition. Oliver exploded with 25 points in 25 minutes, making 10 of 13 from the floor and completing an outstanding double-double with 12 rebounds.

Off the Bench – Chelsey Shumpert (Nottingham Wildcats), Sarah Toeaina (Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters), Ali Gorrell (Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters), Georgia Jones (Manchester Mystics), Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby (Durham Palatinates), Jessy Ward (Essex Rebels), Jasmine Joyner (Nottingham Wildcats).​

www.wbbl.org.uk/all-star-five-week-7/

It’s a November awards double for Manchester Mystics after Evelyn Ovner scooped the Molten WBBL Player of the Month accolade.
The recognition for Ovner came hot on the heels of play-caller Jeff Jones being handed the monthly coaching gong.
During a period that was shortened by the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2019 Qualifiers, Ovner caught fire either side of the international break for Mystics.
She enjoyed a hugely productive month after averaging a sparkling 22.7 points per game, her scoring haul helped by a fantastic 54% shooting average from the field.
Ovner also made it a November double-double by going to work on the glass and returning an eye-catching 10.3 rebounds per outing.
She had to fend off challenges from a glut of Hatters personnel to take the honour, with October’s winner Ali Gorrell, Sarah Toeaina, Luiana Livulo and Helen Naylor all in the mix after a great month for their team.

www.wbbl.org.uk/ovner-lands-molten-wbbl-player-of-the-month-gong/