Clark looks to extend winning streak

London Lions women continue their tour of the capital on Sunday when they host Newcastle Eagles at Barking Abbey, tip-off 12.30pm.

The game is a repeat of the WBBL Cup final which Lions won 87-47 to take the season’s first piece of silverware and London coach Mark Clark is looking forward to having a full strength roster available again after playing with just eight players in last week’s victory against Durham:

“Leah [McDerment] should be back, so everyone is fit at the moment” he said. “Chantelle [Charles] was a bit sore, so we rested her last week while Paige [Robinson] was sick which meant we were down to eight players. It’ll be good to up to full strength again.”

Clark expects his side to continue their winning streak that has seen they start the BBL Championship campaign with 13 straight victories, and 19 wins in all domestic competitions:

“They’ve added some players since the Cup final, but it’s a game we should win” he said.

“They’ve brought another American big in, but Maddie McVicar is still key to them. We’re playing as well as we have all season, so I’m looking forward to the game.”

It's been a tumultuous time for Eagles recently with coach Chris Bunten, leading scorer Ebony Horton and young British talent Abi Lowe all departing. Horton was leading the team in points (16.2ppg) and assists (3.1apg) while playing a team-high 30 minutes. Lowe, who has now joined Durham Palatinates, had seen her minutes drop from 28 to 18 per game this season, with her points also falling from 11.3 to six per game, but was still a key member of the Eagles team.

McVicar is the only other Eagle averaging double digit points with 11.4 per game. She also top scored for her side in the final, finishing 16 points. Chloe Gaynor dominates on the boards with 9.4 rebounds per game, adding 7.7 points. She now has help from American centre Layne Murphy who was drafted in from the Newcastle University squad following January’s exodus. Murphy made her debut in the final against Lions, scoring two points and pulling down four rebounds. In her two WBBL outings since she has averaged 11.5 rebounds, adding six points per game.

Jo Leedham led the way with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists when Lions won the league meeting 100-45 in the north east. Great Britain Azania Stewart gave a glimpse of what was to come in the Cup final as she finished with 16 points and eight boards, stats that she bettered to win Most Valuable Player award, hitting all nine of her field goal attempts and both of her free-throws, adding six rebounds and a couple of blocks.