London Lions beat Newcastle Eagles to win WBBL play-offs

Tierra Hodges top-scored for Newcastle with 21 points and helped them recover from a shaky start.

The underdogs appeared to be in danger of being blown away after London raced into a 9-0 lead, with American guard Meyers starring.

That prompted Eagles coach Matt Newby to call an early timeout, after which his side grew into the game.

They reduced London’s lead to 14-6, with Hodges scoring all of her side’s points, and trailed 18–14 at the end of the first quarter.

The deficit was briefly cut to just two points, but London responded strongly, powering 46-28 ahead by the end of the second quarter and – despite Chloe Gaynor’s back-to-back triples – opening up a 24-point advantage in the third to lead 74-50 going into the final quarter.

To their credit, Newcastle did not give up and continued to attack aggressively, but the gulf in class remained clear. London’s score is the highest-ever in a WBBL final.