London Lions' women ensured the club would go home with a trophy as they lifted the WBBL Championship Play-off crown with a comfortable 93-71 win against Newcastle Eagles at the Morningside Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The Eagles reached the final despite finishing only seventh in the regular season table before shocking the world with wins against Sevenoaks Suns and Leicester Riders, but Lions outscored them in each of the four periods to take the season's last piece of silverware.
Kennedy Leonard capped a brilliant season for Mark Clark's side with a 20 point, 12 assist, ten rebound triple-double but it was Shanice Beckford-Norton who won the finals' MVP award as she led the Lions as she finished with 30 points, eight boards and four assists. Stephanie Umeh had 16 points and four rebounds while Chantel Charles added 11 points and seven rebounds, with Cassie Breen chipping in with ten points and six boards. Alison Gorrell led Eagles with 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The Lions' defence proved to be key as they out-rebounded the north east side 52-35 and limited them to just 35 percent shooting from the field.
Eagles started well as Gorrell hit four points in a 6-2 run, but Beckford-Norton got off the mark with a pair of free-throws and once Umeh had put them 11-10 ahead with 3:29 on the clock they never looked back as Leonard's free-throws capped a 13-5 run to send her side into the first break leading 21-16.
Umeh kept the Lions ahead early in the second period but Maddy McVicar dragged the Eagles within three points with a pair at the foul line. Five straight Breen points helped the Lions take control again and a Charles lay-up saw them go into the locker room with a 45-37 lead.
McVicar made it a one point game three minutes into the second half but Beckford-Norton hit a basket only to see Gorrell tie the game at 51 a minute later.
It was Umeh who launched the run that gave the Lions a lead they would never lose as Beckford-Norton hit a three and then drained a pair at the charity stripe as the team poured in 13 straight points, and Valentina Klocker's lay-up sent them into the final break with a 69-55 lead.
Beckford-Norton opened the final period scoring and although she and Gorrell exchanged threes early in the period, Eagles never got any closer than 11 points and a Leonard triple made it a 15 point game with a little over five minutes remaining, launching a 9-1 run that wrapped up the win and the title.
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