The latest WBBL All-Star 5 is dominated by title-chasing rivals and includes three of the top five players in overall appearances in the weekly team so far this season, alongside a debutant from Gloucester City Queens as they returned to winning ways in the WBBL Championship.
Helen Naylor – Sheffield Hatters
Helen Naylor makes her fourth All-Star 5 appearance, joint-second among all players, and her third in the last five weeks as Sheffield Hatters were dominant on the road at Oaklands Wolves, improving to 10-1 in league play, just behind the two unbeaten teams. Sheffield’s captain finished their most recent victory with a big double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds, also handing out six assists, while shooting 12-18 (66%) on the inside as Hatters never trailed.
Jo Leedham-Warner – London Lions
An unbeaten 11-0 atop the WBBL Championship, London Lions got a big road win at Leicester Riders on Sunday as London 2012 Olympian Jo Leedham-Warner joins Cat Carr and Oceana Hamilton at the top of the WBBL All-Star 5 appearances chart, with this being her fifth. In this game she put up 20 points on an unstoppable 5-6 (83%) from behind the three-point line, adding seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. She scored five early points as Lions led from the outset and throughout, and then hit four of her triples in the third quarter as they put the game way beyond their hosts.
Julia Koppl – Sevenoaks Suns
Sevenoaks Suns completed consecutive wins on a double-header weekend to join Lions at the summit of the WBBL Championship with an 11-0 record, as Austrian forward Julia Koppl makes her second All-Star 5 appearance, but first in over two months. They opened with a big home win over Manchester Met Mystics at Surrey Sports Park on Saturday, as Koppl put up an efficient 13 points on 5-7 (71%) inside shooting to go with eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Suns dominated the first quarter with Koppl scoring seven early points including the momentum-inducing ‘and-one’ play that sparked an early 16-4 surge.
Georgia Gayle – Sheffield Hatters
Joining her teammate on four appearances in the weekly team, and joint-second most among all players this season, Great Britain guard Georgia Gayle had a do-it-all performance in victory over Oaklands. She finished with 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, shooting a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line. That included nine first quarter points and the ‘and-one’ play, and five points in a row, in the 7-0 burst that took the game from a one-shot margin early on to a comfortable one that Hatters wouldn’t relinquish.
Bianca Osas-Maxwell – Gloucester City Queens
Gloucester City Queens picked up a first win in eight games, dating back to October, in gaining revenge on Nottingham Wildcats on Sunday, leading to a debut All-Star 5 appearance for British forward Bianca Osas-Maxwell. She came from the bench to put in a huge performance of 19 points and eight rebounds, as they came from behind to win the game in the fourth quarter, with Osas-Maxwell’s clutch three-pointer inside the final minute giving them a crucial two-shot advantage late on.
Off the bench: Oceana Hamilton (Leicester Riders), Shaunay Edmonds (Nottingham Wildcats), Praise Egharevba (Nottingham Wildcats), Judit Fritz (Sevenoaks Suns), Cassie Breen (London Lions), Taylor Edwards (Caledonia Pride), Sian Phillips (Caledonia Pride).