London Lions completed their second successive clean sweep in the WBBL after beating Leicester Riders 57-41 at The O2 Arena, in London. It was far from a classic, but it was a fourth piece of silverware of the season - and 10th overall - for the Lions as they rounded out another perfect season, on Sunday afternoon. Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-F-1985) top scored with 11 points in the win with Ty Battle (183-F-1999, college: Delaware, agency: LBM Management) collecting 15 rebounds to go with eight points as the Finals MVP, while Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000, college: UC Davis) also added 11 points along with four rebounds and five assists. The Lions looked to retiring veteran Azania Stewart in their opening possessions and it was the GB legend that was first to get the scoreboard moving before Kirsty Brown responded with a three-point play. Fiona O'Dwyer (182-F-1991, college: Emmanuel, MA) connected from downtown to push the Riders into an early advantage with the Lions offence only putting up four points through the opening six minutes. However, that soon changed as they put together a 13-0 run that was capped by a Leslie Vorpahl (168-PG-1995, college: Tulane) three after back-to-back scores from Battle and Taylor Murray (168-G-1997, college: Kentucky). McKenzie Johnston (170-G-1996, college: Montana) stopped the rot for Leicester after seven straight misses and they found themselves 19-10 behind after 10 minutes with a 4-of-17 shooting start. Winterburn opened her account after an 0-of-6 start before Oliana Squires (173-G-1998, college: Montana St.) scored her first points from downtown with Hannah Robb (168-SG-1998) capping a 7-0 run to cut the gap to just a single point at 21-20. The Scottish guard had to check out shortly after picked up an apparent ankle injury shortly and the Lions responded with a 10-0 spell that helped establish a 31-23 lead to take into the half-time break. Points were still hard to come by in the second half with both sides continuing to struggle to find their rhythm. The Riders had to wait until the four-minute mark to register their first points since the interval, but London had not been able to capitalise and pull completely out of sight with their lead as large as 12. O'Dwyer's triple cut the gap back to single figures, only for Snytsina to answer in kind and Vorpahl's late basket putting London up 42-28 ahead of the final 10 minutes. The Lions pushed on to move 20 points ahead on a three from Taylor Murray and the celebrations were already on ice with Stewart leaving the game late on to receive a standing ovation.
Courtesy of: hoopsfix.com

Finals MVP: Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-F-1985) of London L.
Player of the Year: Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan (188-F-1998) of London L.
Guard of the Year: Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000) of London L.
Forward of the Year: Carol Herbert (5'9''-F) of Connecticut C.
Center of the Year: Ashley Harris-Arlen (187-F/C-1990) of Leicester R.
Import Player of the Year: Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan (188-F-1998) of London L.
Domestic Player of the Year: Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000) of London L.
Young Player of the Year: Isabel Bunyan (180-F-2004) of Cardiff MA.
Defensive Player of the Year: Taylor Murray (168-G-1997) of London L.
Coach of the Year: Miguel Angel Ortega of Caledonia G.

Eurobasket.com All-English WBBL First Team 2023

Harris-Arlen

Hatch

Herbert-Harrigan

Murphy

Winterburn

First Team
Ashley Harris-Arlen (187-F/C-1990) of Leicester R.
Shannon Hatch (178-G-1993) of Cardiff MA.
Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan (188-F-1998) of London L.
Karly Murphy (185-F-1998) of Warwick S.
Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000) of London L.

Eurobasket.com All-English WBBL Second Team 2023

Squires

Bradshaw

McGarrahan

Handy

Ottewill-Soulsby

Second Team
Oliana Squires (173-G-1998) of Leicester R.
Araion Bradshaw (168-G-1996) of Sevenoaks S.
Erin McGarrahan (183-F-1992) of Caledonia G.
Chantelle Handy (188-F-1987) of Caledonia G.
Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby (190-C-1995) of Durham P.

Eurobasket.com All-English WBBL Honorable Mention 2023

Snytsina

Johnston

Wolf

Gayle

Monakana

Hendershot

Honorable Mention
Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-F-1985) of London L.
McKenzie Johnston (170-G-1996) of Leicester R.
Abbie Wolf (193-F/C-1998) of Caledonia G.
Georgia Gayle (175-G-1997) of Sheffield H.
Janice Monakana (183-F-1995) of Sevenoaks S.
Elle Hendershot (185-F) of Durham P.
Sune Swart (190-C/F-1995) of Essex R.
Jessica Wayne (175-G) of Durham P.
Antoinette Lewis (185-C-1999) of Newcastle E.
Grace George (191-F-2000) of Ipswich F.
Lauren Saiki (160-PG-1997) of Cardiff MA.
Kennedy Nicholas (190-F) of Nottingham
Samantha Keltos (190-F-1998) of Manchester M.

Eurobasket.com English WBBL All-Domestic Players Team 2023

Gayle

Handy

McGarrahan

Ottewill-Soulsby

Winterburn

All-Domestic Players Team
Georgia Gayle (175-G-1997) of Sheffield H.
Chantelle Handy (188-F-1987) of Caledonia G.
Erin McGarrahan (183-F-1992) of Caledonia G.
Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby (190-C-1995) of Durham P.
Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000) of London L.

Eurobasket.com English WBBL All-Imports Team 2023

Wayne

Bradshaw

Murphy

Snytsina

Harris-Arlen

All-Imports Team
Jessica Wayne (175-G) of Durham P.
Araion Bradshaw (168-G-1996) of Sevenoaks S.
Karly Murphy (185-F-1998) of Warwick S.
Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-F-1985) of London L.
Ashley Harris-Arlen (187-F/C-1990) of Leicester R.

Eurobasket.com English WBBL All-Defensive Team 2023

Beckford-Norton

Bradshaw

Murray

Swart

Wayne

All-Defensive Team
Shanice Beckford-Norton (173-G-1997) of London L.
Araion Bradshaw (168-G-1996) of Sevenoaks S.
Taylor Murray (168-G-1997) of London L.
Sune Swart (190-C/F-1995) of Essex R.
Jessica Wayne (175-G) of Durham P.

London Lions successfully defended their WBBL Cup title with a crushing 95-42 win over Leicester Riders in the 2023 final, in Birmingham on Sunday. Mark Clark 's side collect their seventh piece of silverware and extended their unbeaten domestic run to 51 games. Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000, college: UC Davis) led the way as MVP with 16 points, five rebounds and nine assists against her former side, while Kiki Herbert-Harrigan top scored with 19 points and Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-F-1985) added 14 points as all 11 players got onto the scoresheet. It was Snytsina who made a strong start with successive triples as well as back-to-back assists as London moved 11-5 ahead. Oliana Squires (173-G-1998, college: Montana St.) was carrying the scoring load for the Riders; quickly climbing into double figures with half of those coming from the line. However, the Lions put together a 6-1 close to the opening quarter that was capped by Shanice Beckford-Norton (173-G-1997, college: LSU) at the buzzer to make it 24-15. They continued the momentum at the start of the second as Snytsina scored five straight in a 10-0 run to double up the score in a 17-point lead. London's defence was relentless - in particular keeping Ashley Arlen to an 0-6 start - and they were just as ruthless at the other end as Herbert-Harrigan and Winterburn knocked down triples to further extend the lead - going in at half-time up 48-26. Snytsina added another triple early on in the third as there was no let up from London with a controlling 25-9 period to move 73-35 in front. The Riders scored the first five points of the fourth before enduring another baron stretch with just two more points to their final total, while Herbert-Harrigan sealed the win with two more triples. Squires was the only player in double figures for the Riders with 23 points.
Courtesy of: hoopsfix.com

London Lions had to dig deep against Leicester Riders but came through to win the WBBL Trophy for the third year in row. Their eventual 81-70 victory at Glasgow's Emirates Arena came with Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan (188-F-1998, college: S.Carolina) 's 33 points and 18 from Holly Winterburn (178-G-2000, college: UC Davis). Leicester were led by Ashley Arlen's 22 points, with Hannah Robb (168-SG-1998) adding 17. Leicester were in contention against the holders until late in the game but again came up short. Harrigan's relentless 33 points was a new record individual haul for the Trophy final as Lions won their seventh final in a row. "Shout out to the Riders who came out and played very hard - but we have so many players that can come in off the bench and do the job for us," said said, adding she was confident her team would repeat last season's sweep of all four WBBL titles. London's 15-4 streak to the end of the first quarter had looked ominous after the holders' 50-point thrashing of the Riders in January's Cup final, but this time the Riders' response was better. But Leicester's response in the second quarter, inspired by the energy of GB international Robb and Arlen, brought them to within a point with just over a minute to go to the interval. "We came in more relaxed - more ourselves," Arlen told BBC Sport. "We just said 'we are the underdogs - we have nothing to lose'. In the end, London just have a lot of bodies they can keep throwing at you." Leicester even had the lead within three minutes of the restart but London's range of scoring options - Winterburn and Harrigan, backed up by Shanice Beckford-Norton (173-G-1997, college: LSU) - meant that the next Lions 10-point lead was not long in coming. Yet Leicester's Robb and Arlen still refused to accept defeat and the Riders worked their way back to a five-point deficit midway through the final quarter, only for Lions' Ty Battle (183-F-1999, college: Delaware, agency: LBM Management) to come off the bench for three successive scores that left Leicester with a little too much to do.
Courtesy of: bbc.com