London Lions’ National League Division One teams both face key games this weekend as the regular season enters its final month.
The women travel to Reading Rockets on Sunday for a relegation battle while the previous day sees the men host Derby Trailblazers at Barking Abbey.
It’s a must-win game for David Lavinier’s women with the teams fighting to avoid Nottingham Trent University in Division Two next season. Both sides go into the game with four wins, although Rockets have two games in hand. Thirty-nine Fatmata Janneh points weren’t enough for Lions when the sides met in November as Rockets won 79-72. With aggregate points in the head-to-head series between the teams, Lions will look for an eight-point win as they try to avoid the drop.
While Janneh continues to lead the Division One scoring race, Rockets’ Candela Hermida Nunez leads them in points (15.6), assists (4.4) and steals (3.6).
Meanwhile the men will try to keep their play-off hopes alive when they host a Derby side who sit joint fifth in the table with a 13-7 record
It will be the first meeting of the season between the teams with the return due to take place on the final day of the season. The only game between the sides in a shortened 2020/21 season saw Blazers win 82-55 at Barking Abbey.
Veteran American Malcolm Smith leads Blazers with 20 points and 6.4 rebounds while his compatriot Ryan Bruggeman adds a team-high 6.4 assists and 1.8 steals to his 18.2 points.
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