Saturday saw a dominant win for the Leicester Riders over Nottingham Wildcats.
Oliana Squires’ double-double performance, amassing 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists, helped cement an emphatic win.
Additionally, Leicester’s centre Kirsty Brown was immovable under the basket, collecting 14 rebounds and rejecting three Nottingham shots.
The Riders, who trail only London Lions in the league standings, got off to a roaring start. A 10-2 run spearheaded by Brown overwhelmed the visitors.
Able to break past a solid defence, guard Kayla Shaw was able to convert a layup and a solo three-point effort to get the Wildcats back into the contest.
Leicester’s forceful attack heightened heading into the second quarter. They registered 19 undisturbed points before Nottingham could score again.
Hannah Robb and Fiona O’Dwyer together put in a huge shift to round off an exceptional first half, scoring at will, and keeping the Wildcats to just 15 points.
Riders resumed their scoring frenzy for the duration of the second half. Though Shaw did what she could to carve out a comeback, her 16 points (including two three-pointers), were not enough to suppress a booming Leicester team that has now won their last four games.
Leicester Riders 77-43 Nottingham Wildcats (19-7, 46-15, 67-27)
(Riders: Robb, 14; Squires, 12; O’dwyer/Sarson, 10 – Wildcats: Shaw, 16; Nicholas/Stewart, 9; Charity/Whittington, 4)