Olivia Rangel produced one of the first major individual performances of the WNBL Division One season as Anglia Ruskin University beat London Cavaliers 75–59.
Rangel finished with 24 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and six steals, generating an efficiency rating of 40 in only her second WNBL appearance.[6]
The result moved Anglia Ruskin to 2–0 and earned Rangel Basketball England’s women’s Player of the Week award.
An all-round performance
The scoring figure attracts attention, but Rangel’s influence extended across the game.
Her 20 rebounds were the highest total recorded by a Division One women’s player over the weekend, while the six assists and six steals demonstrated her impact as both a creator and defender. Basketball England also reported that she scored her 24 points on 46% shooting.[6]
Anglia Ruskin started strongly, winning the opening quarter 18–8, before closing the game with a 26–13 fourth period. Those two stretches provided the foundation for a 16-point victory over last season’s regular-season champions.[3]
The performance is particularly notable because it arrived so early in Rangel’s British campaign. The Wisconsin native joined Anglia Ruskin after playing college basketball in the United States and has immediately become central to the team’s unbeaten opening.
Anglia Ruskin set an early marker
Anglia Ruskin entered the season as defending play-off champions but had experienced mixed results against the strongest regular-season opposition during the previous campaign.
Beating London Cavaliers therefore carried more weight than an ordinary early-season result. The Cavaliers topped the regular-season standings last year and defeated Anglia Ruskin home and away before the play-offs.[3]
Rangel’s performance helped reverse that pattern and gave Anglia Ruskin an early advantage in what should again be a competitive race near the top of the table.
Faye Parker also earned an honourable mention in Basketball England’s weekly selections after supplying 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocks for Anglia Ruskin.[6]
A busy WNBL weekend
Barking Abbey, Milton Keynes Breakers and Anglia Ruskin all completed the weekend at 2–0.
Barking defeated CoLA Southwark Pride 66–62, while Milton Keynes beat London All Stars 75–50. East London Phoenix earned their first Division One victory by edging Bristol Flyers 53–49, and Worcester Wolves defeated Manchester Mystics 50–43.[3]
Those results left London Cavaliers, Manchester, Bristol and London All Stars searching for their first victories.
There is still a long season ahead, but Rangel’s combination of scoring, rebounding, playmaking and defensive activity has already made her one of the competition’s most important early performers.