Round two of the Women’s British Basketball League sees the Riders take on Oaklands Wolves on the road.
Fixture information
Leicester Riders at Oaklands Wolves
Oaklands College
Hatfield Road
St Albans
Al4 0JA
Saturday, October 28, 5:45 PM
Back with a bang
The Riders, returning with a revamped roster of fresh and familiar faces, hit the ground running to start their 2023/24 campaign. They beat the Manchester Giants 92-65, led by American forward Rayven Peeples who put up 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Peeples exploded for 10 points in the third, which saw the Riders expand their lead to 16 after going into halftimes tied at 40.
Leicester shot 52% from the field and a red-hot 47% from three to record a blowout in their season opener.
They now turn their attention to Oaklands, as they face their first competitive action on the road this season.
Winning Wolves on opening night
After a difficult season last year, going 5-17 in the Championship and missing out on a playoff place, the Wolves started this season 1-0.
They took on the Cardiff Met Archers on the road, taking a 79-55 win back home to get their season underway in style.
It was a defensive display by the Wolves, who held Cardiff to just 28.4% shooting from the field in the game. On the other end, Oaklandsā three-point shooting got points on the board, as the visitors made 10 of their 26 attempts.Ā
Caterrion Thompson led them in the game, the 5ā9ā guard playing big with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Another performance like that will be sure to test the Riders around the rim.
Key matchup
Thompsonās hot start to the season should come as no surprise for those who have followed her career. She arrives in Oaklands having led the scoring for Finnish side Forssain, averaging 18.1 points per game.
The Ohio-born guard started out her college career at Bowling Green, where she remained until her Junior year. As a Redshirt Junior, Thompson ranked second on her team in scoring with 13.7 points per game and averaged 5.3 rebounds.
In her final college season with Mississippi State, Thompson averaged 8.1 points and 3.1 rebounds, leading the team in 3-point shooting percentage with 41%.
Tasked with the role of slowing her down is Riders guard Taylor OāBrien, who had a dominant display of her own against Manchester. OāBrien bossed the opening half of play, getting to the hoop with ease to put up a game-high 12 rebounds and 16 points.
The rookie signed to the Riders from Flordia State, averaging 6.7 points for the Seminoles last season.
She spent four years prior at Bucknell University, leading the team in scoring for two straight seasons and earning a place on the All-Patriot League First team for 2021 and 2022. The Pennsylvania native averaged 16.7 points and 6.5 rebounds in her final season with the Bison.
Expect a battle in the backcourt in this one.
