Shanice is raring to go

London Lions’ captain Shanice Beckford-Norton clearly can’t wait to get on the floor to face Sevenoaks Suns in the WBBL Trophy final, on Sunday.

“I’m pumped!” she said. “I’m very excited, we have a great team with a lot of players who have played together at many levels and we believe we can win every game."

“We have the team who can win it all, and why wouldn’t go for it?”

Lions go into the game with a perfect record in all WBBL competitions this season, and Beckford-Norton is clearly happy to part of a team who are widely regarded as one of the deepest sides to have played in British basketball:

“We have been able to build on what we did last year, now we’re a team who’ve played together a lot in different situations. We have such good pieces, and it’s amazing to watch. There’s so many good players on our roster, we have a first five who’ll start strong and a bench who can pick up the pieces if needed. Everyone contributes, not all of it shows on the stats sheet, but absolutely everyone plays their part.”

For all of her confidence, the Lions’ captain is aware of the threat a Suns side pose:

“This is a very different game to when we beat Newcastle in the Cup final. We played them [in the BBL Cup group stage] early in the season but we’re both totally different teams now and it will be a very tough game."

“Cat Carr is always going to be a vital player for them, she controls the team and keeps them together both offensively and defensively. But Janice Monakana is strong offensively for them and Renee [Busch] is great on the perimeter. We need to be aware of both of them. They might play a bit of zone, but I imagine it’ll be a man-to-man kind of game."

“But as long as we play as a team, I’m confident we’ll bring home a second trophy this season.”

Sunday’s game is live on Sky Sports Action, starting at 12.30pm with Lions men following on at 3.30pm as they face Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Trophy final.