The Sevenoaks Suns fell to their first defeat of the season, losing 72-36 in the WBBL Trophy Final to the London Lions.
The league’s best offense and best defense went head to head for the first time this year in what was a highly anticipated matchup, but unfortunately the Suns couldn’t get over the line and bring the trophy home from Glasgow.
Both teams took a couple of possessions to get into the game, but Lions guard and eventual finals MVP Holly Winterburn opened the scoring with a three. The Suns were able to keep it close in the first quarter, with buckets from Judit Fritz, Jamila Thompson and Cat Carr giving them a lead halfway through the period.
However, a sloppy seven turnovers allowed their opponents to build an eight point lead going into the second. Winterburn got hot, scoring three of her five attempts behind the arc, which capped off a personal 11 point quarter for her.
The Suns reduced their turnovers in the second quarter, as the defense ramped up and they managed to make it into a one possession game with two minutes left.
Going into half time down just a few points would’ve given them much needed momentum, however three unanswered buckets quickly pushed the lead up to 10 leaving Sevenoaks facing an uphill battle in the second half.
Ultimately, the deficit was too large to overcome, and the Lions showed why they have the best offense in the league as they kept building on their lead and completely took over game, nullifying the Suns on both ends of the court.
They scored a combined 39 points in the half and held the Suns to just 13. The Lions converted 9 of their 20 3-point attempts in comparison to the Suns’ 2, which was a huge factor in why they were able to build such a huge advantage.
Despite the defeat, every player didn’t let their head drop and kept competitive right until the very end.
There were some great performances across the board for the Suns, with Carr leading the team with 12 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. Renee Busch contributed 8 points off the bench, including 2 3-pointers, and 6 rebounds.
Focus now switches back to league action this Friday with another meeting between these two sides on the horizon, as both look to maintain their unbeaten records in the Championship.
Author: Angelia Ronayne
