• Home
• News

16 March 2026  5 min read

W/NBL D1 Recap (14/15 Mar 2026) - playoff places set, results, stats and more

The bulk of the weekend's action was in D1M's Pool B, where Barking kept their chances of second spot alive with a Thursday win over London Elite, but a narrow loss to London Stars on Saturday ended that charge.

Loughborough grabbed some late momentum before the post-season with a win over short-handed Ipswich, and Sheffield Sharks II ended their Pool A campaign with a victory over St Helens.

In the list below, a * is for Pool A games, and a + is for Pool B games.

Thursday 12 March 2026

D1M

+ 7:00pm - London Elite (2-16) 44-86 Barking Abbey (14-4) - LIVE STATS

Saturday 14 March 2026

D1M

+ 2pm - London Stars (13-5) 71-69 Barking Abbey (14-4) - LIVE STATS

Sunday 15 March 2026

D1M

+ 12pm - London Stars (12-6) 69-72 Solent Kestrels (16-2) - LIVE STATS

* 5pm - Sheffield Sharks II (9-13) 87-82 St Helens Saints (10-12) - LIVE STATS

D1W

1pm - Loughborough Riders (9-11) 78-65 Endeavour Ipswich Basketball (12-8) - LIVE STATS

View all the Results from this weekend

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Solent Kestrels (@solent_kestrels)

Standout performances

Barking had no problem fending off London Elite on Thursday night, winning at a canter 86-44.

At that point, a win over London Stars on Saturday would have confirmed BA as Pool B runners-up, but those hopes were dashed by a hard-fought 71-69 Stars' victory, confirming the Pool's top four in the process.

Stars would move on to their Sunday encounter with Solent with a spring in their step, falling just short of a two-win weekend as they went down 72-69.

Going toe-to-toe with two of their closest rivals in the standings will no doubt have given the Stars a huge boost ahead of the playoffs, with a trip to Pool A winners Worcester now confirmed for the London side.

Pool A came to a close as Sheffield Sharks II fended off a St Helens' comeback attempt to end on a high, winning 87-82.

There was also nothing at stake in D1W's final game as Loughborough secured a momentum-boosting 78-65 victory over Ipswich.

The visitors rested the likes of Ashleigh Pink and Hailey Counsell, and played standout forward Holly Ensoll for less than 16 minutes, but the Riders still overcame the likes of Welham, Keyes and Maya Price for their ninth win of the seasons.

What does it mean for the standings? 

The playoff field for both D1M and D1W is now set:

D1M

• Worcester Wolves vs London Stars
• Solent Kestrels vs Birmingham City University
• Myerscough Basketball Academy vs Barking Abbey
• Barnet Bulldogs vs Manchester Magic

D1W

• London Cavaliers vs Loughborough Riders
• CoLA Southwark Pride vs Brent Bulls
• Anglia Ruskin University vs Manchester Mystics
• Endeavour Ipswich Basketball vs Worcester Wolves

Both competitions have the upcoming weekend off, with quarter-final games being scheduled for the 28/29 March. 

Semi-finals will then take place on 11/12 April, and the Playoff Finals weekend is scheduled for 25/26 April.

NBL Division One Standings

2025/26 Playoff Structure

Player-of-the-week candidates 

With so few games, Player and Team of the Week picks won't take place for the past weekend, but plenty of players still deserve some recognition here for their efforts.

Kervy Mabaya (16pts, 9reb) and Oskaras Visockas (17pts) combined for Barking to down London Elite on Thursday, and Bradley Kaboza (28pts, 10reb) had a big double-double to keep London Stars in the hunt against Solent on Sunday.

Ethan Round (18pts, 8reb, 4ast), Andre Arissol (17pts, 3reb, 5ast, feature image) and Jakub Ofman (19pts, 6reb) would ensure Solent ended the regular-season on a high though, seeing off the Stars in the process.

Sedale Hanson-Young (20pts, 7reb, 5ast) and veteran Michael Tuck (12pts, 14reb, 5ast) combined to help the Sharks overcome Reiss Reynolds (20pts, 5reb, 4ast) and St Helens, and Lovelle Green (13pts, 7reb, 8ast) and Louisa Gibbins (13pts, 14reb) pushed Loughborough past Harriet Welham's (22pts, 6reb, 5ast) Ipswich.

Watch out for the winner on our social channels, with the announcement going live at 5pm on Monday evening.

• Instagram 
• Facebook
• Threads 
• X

HoopsHQ keeps fans in the heart of the action

HoopsHQ is the one-stop shop for everyone participating and following Basketball England’s leagues and competitions, including the NBL, WNBL and Jnr. NBL.

It means players, coaches and supporters will be able access up-to-the-minute information on games, including – where digital scoring is utilised – live updates. FIBA Live Stats will still be used in relevant NBL and WNBL competitions.

The app will feature scores, standings and fixtures, plus basic player and team stats, and will be where participants' Basketball England licence cards will be hosted for the upcoming season.  

Download the HoopsHQ app: 

For IOS

For Android

User guide

Main image credit - Solent Kestrels