In the second WBBL contest of the day, the Nottingham Wildcats came up with a solid 69-75 win on the road to Cardiff Met Archers.
One of three Wildcats players in double-digit scoring, Mari Stewart went off for 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
Kayla Shaw was also critical to the Wildcats win, as she poured in 22 points, with four triples – her third straight contest scoring 20 or more.
A thrilling matchup, Cardiff Met started strong, as the home crowd rallied behind floor general Lauren Saiki who set the tone, forcing Nottingham turnovers and making plays on the attacking front.
Montana State commit Isobel Bunyan anchored down the Cardiff Met defence, drawing two early blocks on her way to six rejections cumulatively.
Not just an alert and astute defender, Bunyan provided back-to-back buckets to push the Archers out ahead in the opening minutes.
Finding their feet, with a great pass and cut play by Brahe Ashton and Stewart got the Wildcats on the scoresheet.
Picking up momentum quickly, the visiting Wildcats began a 9-2 run to get the game on level terms with Imani Whittington and Jahnae Gyles doing a great job of converting defence to offence.
Concluding the first quarter, despite the lockdown Cardiff Met defence, Stewart successfully got a hook shot to drop to beat the buzzer.
Though trailing, Nottingham came into the second quarter fired up.
Archers continued to make great plays to free up scorers, with Saiki finding Lara Habling along the baseline who finished confidently at the basket for a layup.
Saiki then danced her way past multiple Nottingham players finishing in dazzling fashion at the basket.
But with Shaw providing a quick spree of buckets, the Wildcats moved ahead 40-42, heading into halftime.
Cardiff Met opened the second with a quick jump shot from Shannon Hatch before Whittington immediately responded with an and-one layup.
Shaw’s smooth jump shot followed by a well-executed three-pointer placed the visitors in reach of a double-figure lead.
Opening the fourth quarter scoring, an Ashton three-pointer spurred the Wildcats on to a 10-point lead midway through.
Cardiff Met was successful in getting layups to drop but Shaw’s wonderful shooting range gave Nottingham a continuous edge as time expired.
With the win, Nottingham improved to three wins on the season.
For Cardiff Met, they suffered their sixth defeat as both teams continue to joust for playoff positions.
Cardiff Met Archers 69 – 75 Nottingham Wildcats (19-16, 40-42, 52-58)
(Archers: Hatch, 21; Yunker, 13; Saiki, 10 – Wildcats: Shaw, 22; Stewart, 17; Whittington, 11)
Report Source: WBBL