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The London Lions beat the Nottingham Wildcats by a resounding 98 points to mark the biggest ever victory in Women’s British Basketball League history.
It was also a landmark game for Holly Winterburn, who became just the third ever player in league history to register 1500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
Following their home defeat to Hungarian side DVTK back in September, the London Lions have been on a winning warpath that has seen them victorious against every one of their opponents.
Sunday afternoon’s game saw a meeting between two teams in polar opposite form. The Lions were one of two teams still unbeaten domestically, whilst the Nottingham Wildcats were one of two teams still yet to taste victory.
In a superhero themed afternoon at the Copper Box, the Lions were looking to showcase their superpowers in front of their home fans.
The Lions’ opening possession saw Karlie Samuelson involved in a four-point-play as she drained her first of seven three-pointers in the game. The American-Brit took seven shots in the match, making each one in what was an efficient team performance.
The story of the opening quarter for Nottingham was turnovers. The visitors had 10 in 10 minutes as the Copper Box, with their opponents punishing them in a ruthless fashion. The scoreline was 38-10 with the first quarter in the books - but there was no signs of anything slowing down.
Seconds into the second quarter, Abby Meyers was on target from three-point land which commenced a 37-7 run. By halftime, Samuelson, Winterburn and Mayers all had 13 points each as the Lions led by a staggering 58 points.
There are not many teams that could live with London’s shooting on the best of days, but even more so when they are shooting over 63% from behind the arc.
The hosts once again scored 37 points in the third quarter, tallying up 112 points in 30 minutes.
It is fair to say that Stella Kaltsidou’s team put on a clinic at the Copper Box as they closed out a historic game in style. With 140 points on the board, eight London players were in double digits in what was a phenomenal team performance.
It was IM historic afternoon for Holly Winterburn and her London Lions, who will now look ahead to Thursday evening’s game in Turkey against Bursa Uludag.
Watch the full game here.
