Thursday, December 12, 2024
HomeBASKETBALLSuns retain Championship with extended unbeaten run

Suns retain Championship with extended unbeaten run

The Sevenoaks Suns secured back-to-back WBBL Championship titles after they beat fellow contenders Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters 71-63 on the road on Saturday, avenging their Cup Final defeat in January.

And Suns remain unbeaten at 20-0 in the 2018/19 campaign, after defeating Cardiff Met Archers on Sunday, and have only lost one league game in the last two years, an amazing achievement by any standards.

Hatters v Suns
In a fittingly close game, the teams were tied at 61 inside the final four minutes, until an offensive rebound and put back from Jess Good inspired a 10-2 finish with Cat Carr adding a further six of those to put the game beyond the hosts.

Tough defence and effective transition was key for Suns as they scored 19 points from the 17 turnovers that they forced, with six of those turnovers coming in the decisive fourth quarter. Ta’Yani Clark led the push as she nabbed six steals.

Clark did a bit of everything to lead her team with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists to go with those steals. Carr led the scoring on 19, and Good grabbed a massive 14 rebounds, including seven at the offensive end, to go with her eight points.

Leading scorers for Sevenoaks were Cat Carr (19), Ta’Yani Clark (14) and Renee Busch (11).

Archers v Suns
Sevenoaks travelled to Cardiff on Sunday as National Champions once again and they took no time establishing an unassailable lead over their opponents.

Thanks to high-scoring Carr once again, Suns went in at the half 45-30 leaders, to cap off a fantastic weekend on the road. The points were shared as has been the case this season, with no less than five team members in double figures.

Leading scorers for Sevenoaks were Cat Carr (18), Renee Busch (16), Ta’Yani Clark (10), Janice Monakana (10) and Jess Good (10).

Sevenoaks forward, Vanessa Da Silva said of the Championship win: “The weekend was great – we just played team basketball, which is what Sevenoaks does best. Being able to win a league title in my first season has been a good experience. Our goal is not to focus on going unbeaten, but to get better as a team”.

However, with just two league games to go, thre is every possibility that Sevenoaks will go the season unbeaten. They travel to Glasgow this weekend to face Caledonia Pride before hosting Nottingham Wildcats in a home fixture the week after.

Suns will then prepare for the Playoffs, although their first opponents are yet to materialise as teams continue to battle it out for 8th spot in the league. It is likely to be either Newcastle Eagles, Oakland Wolves or Durham Palatinates, and Sevenoaks would command a home draw throughout the series until the Final at the O2 in London on May 19th.

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