WBBL Trophy final: Leicester Riders beat Durham Palatinates 76-74

Leicester Riders retained the WBBL Trophy in a tense finish, winning 76-74 against first-time finalists Durham Palatinates.

Leicester led almost throughout, but survived a nervous finish to win.

Claire Paxton led the Riders' scoring with 18 points and Kate Oliver, voted most valuable player, added 16 points.

Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby and Theairra Taylor led Durham's effort with 18 points apiece as the underdogs came close to causing an upset.

Leicester started with an Oliver-inspired run of 11-0 and then hit a 12-3 run to take the first quarter 25-15.

The last score of the quarter, a three on the buzzer from Durham captain Monika Bosilj, inspired Durham's second-quarter 15-3 surge that gave them their first lead midway through the quarter.

Leicester again established control at the start of the second half with Paxton and Elmore leading a 12-4 run before the Riders lost starting guard Holly Winterburn to what looked like a serious ankle injury.

Ottewill-Soulsby, Taylor and Rhianna Mae Laing brought Durham back to just 68-67 down with two and a half minutes remaining.

But Taylor fouled out with 13 seconds left and four free throws from Rebecca Navarro gave the Riders the cushion they needed to survive Betsy Macdonald's three nerveless free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining for Durham.