The opening weekend of the 2019-20 season is in the books after an entertaining start to the Betty Codona WBBL Trophy; that saw Nottingham Wildcats joined Leicester Riders, Durham Palatinates and Sevenoaks Suns in the semi-finals of the trophy.
Nottingham Wildcats had the honour of collecting the first victory of the new campaign as they eased past BA London Lions 70-53. There was a sense of deja vu for fans as last year’s standout duo Jasmine Joyner and Chelsey Shumpert picked up where they left off. The former hit top gear with a spectacular 22 points, 12 boards and four blocks, while Shumpert weighed in with 23 points and 6 assists. Lions’ debutante Melita Emmanuel-Carr racked up an eye-catching 18 points.
Nottingham Wildcats took their seat with an impressive 69-53 triumph against Manchester Mystics. Once again it was the seemingly unstoppable Jasmine Joyner who took centre stage with a stellar 22 points, 19 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
BA London Lions 50-73 Nottingham Wildcats (10-21, 30-38, 40-58)
(Lions – Emmanuel-Carr 18, Velasquez 13, Ivanova 9; Wildcats – Shumpert 23, Joyner 22, Costa 8)
Nottingham Wildcats 69-53 Manchester Mystics (16-9, 32-24, 52-41)
(Wildcats – Joyner 22, Shumpert 13, Zedlakova 10; Mystics – Djassi 17, Jones 13, Bailey 11)
Report/Image Source: WBBL