The Sheffield Hatters are crowned Super League Basketball (SLB) Cup champions with a dominant 90-71 victory over Manchester Basketball.

Despite the Sheffield Hatters flying high in the Super League Basketball Women (SLBW) championship standings, there was an air of optimism surrounding Manchester Basketball as they boasted home-court advantage at the AO Arena.

Even with a roaring Manchester crowd, the underdogs could not muster a shock triumph, and it was through no fault of their own.

Sheffield has created an inertia that is showing no signs of slowing down. Talent, experience, squad depth, and most importantly, momentum are proving to be unstoppable components as the Hatters lift their second trophy of the season.

Sheffield is peaking at the opportune time

Due to the limited number of fixtures in the SLBW regular-season, it is somewhat difficult for teams to discover the perfect blueprint to win every piece of silverware that British basketball has to offer.

What the Hatters have on their side is the ability to retain the talented core of players on their roster, including the reigning SLBW Playoff Final MVP Georgia Gayle, while adding sensational players in the mould of Megan Mullings and Jessica Eadsforth-Yates.

Roster consistency is key, and now this is paying dividends as success has become a habit for Sheffield. At no moment during their matchup with Manchester did it ever feel like this was not the Hatters’ trophy to win.

As Eadsforth-Yates stated during a post-game interview, “If you can stop one of us from scoring, someone else will step up.” After this performance, this quote has never rung truer.

Mullings still showcased her usual scoring antics by recording 15 points on 6-11 shooting, but in the moments Manchester committed defenders to slow down her offensive prowess, Gayle stepped up to devastate her opponents.

Gayle — who was eventually awarded the SLB Cup MVP — scored 20 points, while shooting 57% from deep. When Sheffield’s guard finds this kind of rhythm, she simply cannot be stopped.

Additionally, the GB international displayed her ability to distribute the ball effectively and lay simple opportunities on a plate for her teammates. Gayle ended the victory with seven assists to her name.

It would be tough for any team to combat a roster that can supplement this kind of scoring with 23 points off the bench.

With the serial winner Vanessa Ellis at the helm, it is difficult to dispute that we are already looking at our SLBW Playoff champions.