All of this week’s WBBL All-Star 5 come from top four teams in the WBBL Championship as the title race really begins to heat up, including representatives from the unbeaten London Lions, Sevenoaks Suns and Sheffield Hatters, but led by Oceana Hamilton of the fourth-placed Leicester Riders.
Oceana Hamilton – Leicester Riders
Leicester’s Canadian centre is now joint-second among all players in All-Star 5 appearances, with this being her fourth overall and third in the last five weeks. Her performance in Sunday’s win over Durham Palatinates was perhaps the most impressive of all as she posted a huge double-double of 21 points and 17 rebounds, also continuing her impressive defensive displays with four steals and three blocks. Overall, she is the league’s leader in blocks and second in rebounding.
Helen Naylor – Sheffield Hatters
Hatters’ captain fired her team to a big road win at Essex Rebels on Saturday as they remained an unbeaten 7-0 in the WBBL Championship, scoring 34 points on 8-10 (80%) interior shooting and 6-11 (54%) from three-point range, also adding eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. Hatters had to withstand a late comeback from their hosts, Naylor hitting nine points in a row and 14 in a late 16-2 surge that settled the game, to make her second All-Star 5 showing of the season.
Jo Leedham-Warner – London Lions
Another dominant display from Lions has led to a third All-Star 5 appearance in a row for Great Britain international Jo Leedham-Warner, who joins Oceana Hamilton with the second most appearances so far this season. Lions poured in 116 points against Nottingham Wildcats at the Copper Box Arena, with Leedham-Warner scoring 22 in just 24 minutes, including a perfect 6-6 inside, with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Lions broke the game open with 35 second quarter points, as she scored nine including the three-pointer that gave them a double-digit lead for good.
Frankie Wurtz – Sevenoaks Suns
It’s a first showing in the weekly team for Suns’ new American guard as they remained an unbeaten 9-0 at the summit of the WBBL Championship table with a big road win at Manchester Met Mystics. The graduate of Green Bay, who joined from a professional stint in Luxembourg, score 18 points on 6-8 (75%) inside scoring, with five rebounds, four steals and three assists. She scored seven points in a 16-2 second stanza burst that broke the game open, and scored directly from three of her steals in a good defensive showing for the league’s leading defence.
Cassie Breen – London Lions
London’s sharpshooter makes her first All-Star 5 appearance of this season, having been nominated to the Molten WBBL Team of the Year in the last campaign, after Lions also stayed unbeaten at 7-0. Breen missed just two of her ten shots en route to 22 points in the win over Nottingham, shooting 6-7 (85%) from three-point range, also handing out three assists. That included eight points in the decisive second stanza, and the early triple in that period that overturned a temporary deficit and put Lions in front for good.
Off the bench: Elle Hendershot (Durham Palatinates), Kennedy Nicholas (Nottingham Wildcats), DeAngelique Waithe (Essex Rebels), Talor Edwards (Caledonia Pride), Lauren Saiki (Cardiff Met Archers), Brooklyn Pannell (Nottingham Wildcats), Jamila Thompason (Sevenoaks Suns).