Despite it being a quiet week in the WBBL Championship, there were two huge results with top six implications as Sevenoaks Suns and Nottingham Wildcats scored one-shot victories over close rivals, with some big rebounding performances among three double-doubles in the latest All-Star 5.
Brooklyn Pannell – Nottingham Wildcats
The sixth-placed Wildcats beat seventh-placed Essex Rebels 81-78 at home on Saturday, led by a big double-double from American guard Brooklyn Pannell as she makes her second All-Star 5 appearance of the season. She stuffed the stat sheet in a do-it-all performance, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals; and that included eight first quarter points as Nottingham took an early lead that they would hold onto, as well as a key offensive rebound and put-back to make it a three shot game inside the final minute to give them a cushion they needed.
Julia Koppl – Sevenoaks Suns
The table-topping Sevenoaks Suns remained unbeaten at 12-0 as they overcame third-placed Sheffield Hatters 57-54 led by a huge performance from Julia Koppl as she secured weekly honours for the third time and second in the last four weeks. She also had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, handing out six assists, as she proved a handful on the interior drawing fouls and making 7-8 (87%) crucial free-throws. That included five points and three rebounds in a tight fourth quarter, making three free-throws inside the final two minutes that proved decisive.
Renee Busch – Sevenoaks Suns
Suns’ sharpshooter Renee Busch has more three-point makes than any other player in the WBBL this season, at the third highest accuracy rate of 50.7%, and she makes her second All-Star 5 appearance of the campaign as joint-leading scorer in that important win. She hit 3-5 (60%) from beyond the arc and 4-5 (80%) inside on her way to 17 points, adding six rebounds and a pair of steals, including 12 points inside the last six minutes of the third period as Suns established their joint-biggest lead of the game and came from behind to lead for all but one minute of the remainder.
Imani Whittington – Nottingham Wildcats
Nottingham had another double-double in their victory over Essex, leading to British wing Imani Whittington being the only debutant in this week’s All-Star 5. She had 11 points, 10 rebounds and two steals, with six of those boards coming at the offensive end as Wildcats had 15 second chance points compared to just eight for their visitors, with her rebounds leading to seven of those.
Praise Egharevba – Nottingham Wildcats
Another big rebounder in the Nottingham ranks, Egharevba continued an amazing run of form as she makes her second All-Star 5 showing in consecutive weeks although, perhaps surprisingly, she was short of a double-double this time. She finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, also crashing the offensive glass for four of those – Egharevba is the WBBL’s leading offensive rebounder – as she scored six points in a row for Wildcats midway through the fourth period to give them an all-important double-figure cushion, including twice scoring off her own rebounds in that spell.
Off the bench: Lucrezia Costa (Essex Rebels), DeAngelique Waithe (Essex Rebels), Georgia Gayle (Sheffield Hatters), Hannah Shaw (Sheffield Hatters), Cat Carr (Sevenoaks Suns), Tia Freeman (Essex Rebels), Helen Naylor (Sheffield Hatters).