Having lost to Sevenoaks Suns by five points on Saturday in the league, Acers had the chance to redeem themselves on Sunday in a National Cup game.

A seven-point victory booked Acers a place in the semi-final for the third consecutive season.

Saturday’s game was a tale of missed opportunities. The home side were missing their top scorer this season, Rebecca Lear, so knew they had to start well.

Consecutive three-pointers from Ruth Murphy early in game put the home side on the right track.

Accurate shooting from beyond the arc continued at the end of the quarter, and Acers entered the first break with a 12-point lead.

In complete contrast, the second period saw Acers fail to score a single point.

Opportunities presented themselves but the home side failed to execute. Sevenoaks took full advantage of this and went on a 16-0 run.

It still took until the fourth minute of the second half before Acers registered points on the board, through another three-pointer from Murphy.

Good ball rotation and strong inside play by Deng meant that by the third break Suns had extended their lead to seven points.

A change in defence and a flurry of points by Floreana Piano got Acers right back into the game.

With five minutes remaining, the scores were level at 48-48, but seven missed foul shots from the home side and two three-pointers from Busch for the visiting side in the final quarter put the game beyond Acers. Final score 55-60.

Acers: 21, 21, 35, 55. Scorers: Piano 17, Murphy 12, Da Silva, Schweikert, Maytham 7. Suns: 9, 25, 42, 60. Scorers: Busch19, Wanstall 11, Lewis 10.

Sunday saw both teams meet again in the quarter-finals of the National Cup.

The first quarter was more evenly matched and only two points separated the teams at the first break.

Unlike the league game it was the second quarter that saw Acers establish a lead, some pressure defence caused turnovers from the visiting side and Acers took full advantage on the break.

By half-time, the home side has a 16-point lead.

Unforced errors, and yet more missed lay ups allowed Sevenoaks back into the game in the third quarter.

Ten points from Arek Deng inside saw the visiting side claw back to within six by the final break.

The final quarter was pretty evenly matched and saw Acers close out the game to win by seven. The final score was 63-56.

Acers: 16, 40, 52, 63. Scorers: Piano, Schweikert 13, Lear, Da Silva 10, Murphy 7. Suns: 14, 24, 46, 56. Scorers: Busch 17, Deng 13, Elston 9.