It’s three-time defending champions taking on first-time finalists as London Lions and Essex Rebels meet to contest the 2024 Betty Codona Trophy final.
The Lions have won 10 consecutive pieces of silverware in the WBBL, while Essex Rebels are looking to cause an upset in their first major final since joining the league in 2018.
London recently advanced to the quarter-finals of EuroCup, and moved into the Trophy final with a 16-point home win over Caledonia Gladiators before seeing off Sheffield Hatters 60-72 last week.
Meanwhile, Essex pulled off an impressive 84-70 victory over Leicester Riders in their last eight clash and backed it up by seeing off Manchester Giants in a 10-point victory behind a huge double-double from Tyra Whitehead.
The Rebels made a number of moves in the summer with the likes of Kat Tudor, Darcy Rees and Dayzsha Rogan all making an impact under new head coach Ashley Cookson.
By the numbers:
London have won the Betty Codona Trophy in three successive years; winning 12 consecutive games (not including one forfeit) in the competition. Their last defeat came in the 2019-20 season when they were beaten by Manchester Mystics in the group phase.
The Rebels have only won two of their 16 meetings with London (Barking Abbey) in the WBBL with their last victory coming in a league encounter in 2020 – though none of their current players were part of that squad.
Holly Winterburn has already won the Betty Codona Trophy on four previous occasions – twice with Leicester Riders (2018, 2019) and twice with London (2022, 2023) and the GB star will make a sixth final appearance having also played in the 2017 showpiece.
The Betty Codona Trophy final scoring record is held by Kiki Herbert-Harrigan after the GB international poured in 33 points in last season’s final to also take MVP honours.
Tyra Whitehead has made an immediate impact for the Rebels since returning from injury with back-to-back big double-doubles to average 15.5 rebounds per game.
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