The latest All-Star 5 is led by a pair of London Lions after they remained unbeaten in the WBBL Championship and reached the WBBL Trophy Final – where they will defend their crown against Sevenoaks Suns – over the weekend, joined by a couple of familiar faces who haven’t featured for a while and one debutant.

Jo Leedham-Warner – London Lions
Great Britain international Jo Leedham-Warner is now clear at the top of the All-Star 5 appearances chart as she features for the eighth time this season, one ahead of Oceana Hamilton, and came agonisingly close to a triple-double in London’s win over Durham Palatinates. She finished with 14 points on 6-7 (85%) interior shooting, with 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals, as Lions had a huge 50 points from turnovers and 23 second chance points, with 16 of those coming directly from Leedham-Warner’s steals and six offensive rebounds.

Kennedy Leonard – London Lions
Point guard Kennedy Leonard also had a double-double in that game, and was also close to a triple-double and not far off a quadruple-double, as she goes third among all players in All-Star 5 appearances with this being her sixth of the season and second in a row. She finished with 14 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals as, like her teammate, 12 of London’s points from turnovers came directly from her steals, and she scored eight points in a row early in the first quarter to set the tone and put Lions up for good.

Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee – Sheffield Hatters
Another British guard in this week’s team, Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee makes her third All-Star 5 appearance of the season, but first for eight weeks, after efficiently firing the third-placed Sheffield Hatters to a first win in three. She finished with 22 points on 10-14 (71%) shooting in victory over Newcastle Eagles, also handing out six assists, scoring 10 points in a 12-4 start to the second quarter that gave Sheffield a double-digit lead that they would hold throughout.

Janice Monakana – Sevenoaks Suns
Suns reached a first WBBL Trophy Final in four years, having also won the competition in 2017, with a huge double-double off the bench from Janice Monakana, leading to a first All-Star 5 showing this season. In under 24 minutes, she posted 23 points and 11 rebounds, also nabbing three steals, including six points and two rebounds in her first four minutes on court as Suns established a first quarter lead that they would retain.

Kennedy Nicholas – Nottingham Wildcats
American big Kennedy Nicholas makes her fourth All-Star 5 appearance of the season after the sixth-placed Wildcats made it three straight WBBL Championship wins with Sunday’s victory over Cardiff Met Archers. The league’s leading rebounder scored just nine points in the game but grabbed a massive 17 rebounds and also blocked two shots, including five points and three boards inside the final two minutes as Wildcats produced a last-gasp 8-0 run to snatch victory from behind.

Off the bench: DeAngelique Waithe (Essex Rebels), Erika Williams (Manchester Met Mystics), Lauren Saiki (Cardiff Met Archers), Oceana Hamilton (Leicester Riders), Rheanne Bailey (Manchester Met Mystics), Shannon Hatch (Cardiff Met Archers), Praise Egharevba (Nottingham Wildcats).