After gaining a relegation lifeline with a win at Worcester Wolves last week, London Lions Women II face two key games this weekend.
Bristol Academy Flyers are the visitors to Barking Abbey on Saturday afternoon before David Lavinier’s side host high-flying Loughborough Riders the following day.
The 73-50 victory at Worcester gave Lions the head-to-head decider against the Wolves and they will need at least two more wins from their remaining seven games to avoid finishing in the relegation zone
Flyers will arrive in east London sitting seventh in the NBL Division One table with a 7-10 record and defeated Lions 71-48 when the teams met in the West Country in November.
Bristol certainly share the points around with Leila Jepson and Emma Bailey averaging 9.9ppg while Mai Zilbeti is just behind on 9.8ppg. Zilbeti adds a team-high three steals and 1.6 assists, while Flyers’ rebounding is led by Fiona Fox who pulls down 4.5 boards per game.
Lions have yet to meet Sunday’s opposition, with the Riders going into the weekend sitting second in the table with a 10-2 record and face a potential title showdown with COLA Southwark Pride in late March. The sides are yet to meet this season, with Lions due to travel to Loughborough on the final weekend of February.
Robyn Ainge leads the Riders with 14.1 points per game as well as adding 6.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.9 steals. The other half of their “big two” is Alia El Shabrawy who leads them in rebounds (7.6rpg), steals (3.6spg) and assists (4.3apg) while adding 13.5 points.
Both games take place at Barking Abbey, with free admission. Saturday’s action tips off at 4.30pm while Sunday’s game starts at 2pm.
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