The London Lions Punch their Ticket to the 2022-23 Women’s British Basketball League Championship Playoff Final!
Player of the Game, Ty Battle Records 19-Point, 12-Rebound Double-Double to Help London Dominate Sevenoaks Suns in Playoff Semi-Final Clash
In their last home game of the season, the London Lions secured their ticket to the 2022-23 Women’s British Basketball League Championship Playoff Final with a 74-49 win over the Sevenoaks Suns.
The game got off to a shaky start for the Londoners, who found themselves 0-5 down just over one minute into the game. However, undeterred, the Lions got back into the game via back-to-back buckets from Ty Battle during a 7-2 London burst (7-7).
Battle and Taylor Murray continued this run, putting some distance between the Lions and the Sun from open play and the free throw line (15-9). Chantel Charles closed out the Lions’ first-quarter scoring whilst keeping the Suns at bay (19-13).
The opening minutes to the second period were rough for both teams as neither squad made a bucket from open play until the 05:29 mark (20-17). However, Holly Winterburn ignited an 8-2 run, increasing the deficit to nine points (28-19).
Although Sevenoaks cut the lead to five points, they could only do this from the free-throw line as London’s stagnating defence shut down their offence on multiple occasions. The Suns struggled to protect the rim during the regular season, which showed how they failed to keep Ty Battle out of the paint. The Low-post savvy forward was the main protagonist of the Lions’ 8-0 surge, pocketing five points during the run (36-23).
The Lions went on several runs in the third period, eventually pushing the lead out to 22 points with the help of a triple from Katsiaryna Snytsina (49-27). Refusing to go down without a fight, the Suns fought back, cutting the lead to 17 points via a 2-7 run with 15 seconds left on the clock.
However, their defence let them down again, as Charles executed a well-orchestrated ATO play to increase the Loins’ lead to 19 points (53-34) with three seconds left on the clock.
The Lions and the Suns traded several buckets during the opening minutes of the fourth quarter (61-41). However, both teams went on a scoring drought until Battle got things rolling again via an and-1 play (64-41) three minutes later. London closed out the game on an 11-8 run to book their ticket to the 2022-23 Women’s British Basketball League Championship Playoff Final (74-49).
Low-post specialist Ty Battle followed her stellar first-round performance with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double against the Suns. The forward grabbed a steal and provided the Lions with rim protection blocking two shots whilst shooting 83% from the free throw line.
Holly Winterburn recorded 13 points, six assists, two rebounds, and one steal to help her comrades overcome the Sevenoaks Suns. The 2023 WBBL Cup MVP hit seven of her nine attempts from the free throw line en route to her points haul.
Katsiaryna Snytsina hit three 3-pointers on her way to 11 points, which she complimented with two assists, two rebounds and one steal. Taylor Murray shot 75% from the floor to earn eight points with her four rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Azania Stewart came up with two huge blocks to go with five rebounds, four assists, and four points. Chantel Charles came off the bench to record eight points, three rebounds, one assist and one block. Shequila Joseph led the bench with eight rebounds to go with her four points.
