WBBL Championship
24th February 2019: Newcastle Eagles 76-67 Nottingham Wildcats (26-18, 47-32, 65-56)
Newcastle Eagles picked up another home win as they started strong to set the platform for victory over Nottingham Wildcats.
The Eagles improve to 6-7 in the league as they close the gap on fourth-placed Nottingham, who drop to 9-5, despite a huge 19 points and 18 rebounds from Jasmine Joyner.
Leading scorers – Giulia Simioni 20, Kara Bonenberger/Kalina Axentieva 13 (Eagles) – Chelsey Shumpert 22, Jasmine Joyner 19, Jagoda Oses 17 (Wildcats)
Turning point – The Eagles made a strong start and pulled further clear in the second quarter as they opened up a 15-point advantage at the break. Nottingham battled back in the third to get back to within single figures, but a low-scoring fourth ended their chances.
Key stat – Newcastle hit 50% of their shots from downtown, going 8 of 26, while the Wildcats were held to 28% overall shooting.
Game hero(es) – Simioni had another impressive all-round display for the Eagles with a near triple-double effort with 20 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, while Bonenberger also contributed a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards in the win.
Match Report Source: WBBL