There’s a familiar look to the latest WBBL All-Star 5, including a pair from Durham Palatinates as they continue their pursuit of the Play-off places and a pair from Sevenoaks Suns as they chase the top four, alongside the season’s appearances leader.
Elle Hendershot – Durham Palatinates
Durham got a first win in four games on the road at Nottingham Wildcats on Saturday to move to within one win of the Play-off places, led by Elle Hendershot as she makes a third All-Star 5 appearance of the season and a second in three weeks. She posted a big double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds, completing an incredible performance with seven assists and five steals, leading from the front as captain with seven points, seven boards and three assists in the opening period as Durham raced into a 26-10 lead and never looked back.
Karly Murphy – B. Braun Sheffield Hatters
American forward Karly Murphy is the first player to reach double-figures for All-Star 5 appearances this season as she features for the second week in a row and a tenth time overall after Hatters got a key home win over Caledonia Gladiators in the race for the top four. She posted yet another double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, adding four assists and five steals, as Hatters held their visitors to just 16 second half points to take the victory, with Murphy posting five points, five boards and two steals in the 19-9 third quarter that got them in front.
Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby – Durham Palatinates
Another double-double in Durham’s road win at Nottingham came from Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby as she gains weekly honours for the third time this season. The forward finished with a team-high 23 points on 11-16 (68%) interior shooting, with 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, including 11 first quarter points in Durham’s fast start to the game, and another 10 as they poured in 40 points in the third period.
Renee Busch – Sevenoaks Suns
The fifth-placed Sevenoaks Suns made it back-to-back WBBL Championship wins as they chase the top four, as a near-perfect shooting display from Renee Busch led them past Cardiff Met Archers on the road and resulted in her second All-Star 5 showing of the campaign, but first since week two. She shot 7-7 from the field, 5-5 from three-point range, and missed just one free-throw on her way to a game-high 21 points, with five rebounds and two assists, including a triple that put them ahead for good at the end of the first and eight points in under two second stanza minutes as they built a double-digit lead.
Araion Bradshaw – Sevenoaks Suns
Araion Bradshaw was another big scorer in that win for Sevenoaks as she makes her eighth All-Star 5 appearance of the season, second only to Murphy in that regard. She finished with 20 points on 9-12 (75%) shooting as Suns shot 66% from the field overall, Bradshaw also handing out eight assists with four rebounds and three steals, including nine points in a 17-2 surge around the first quarter break that gave Suns a double-digit lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Off the bench: Kennedy Nicholas (Nottingham Wildcats), Ashley Arlen (Leicester Riders), Georgia Gayle (B. Braun Sheffield Hatters), Kiki Herbert-Harrigan (London Lions), McKenzie Johnston (Leicester Riders), Holly Winterburn (London Lions), Shannon Hatch (Cardiff Met Archers).