There are some fairly unfamiliar faces in the latest WBBL All-Star 5, with four of the team making just their second appearances of the season and their first for many weeks in most cases, led by Hannah Robb and DeAngelique Waithe who both appear for the first time since week six, when they also featured alongside each other, alongside a pair of Durham Palatinates.
Hannah Robb – Leicester Riders
Leicester strengthened their position in the top four of the WBBL Championship with a double-header winning weekend, led by Hannah Robb in Sunday’s home victory as she posted a double-double to make her second All-Star 5 appearance of the season, but first for 15 weeks. She shot 8-10 (80%) from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds, all at the defensive end, also handing out four assists, as Riders beat Oaklands Wolves. She scored their first five points of the game, before adding a three-pointer, five rebounds and two assists in the second stanza spell where they established a double-figure lead, and hitting seven quick points in little over a minute at one stage in the fourth quarter.
DeAngelique Waithe – Essex Rebels
Also making her second appearance of the season in the weekly team, DeAngelique Waithe led Essex Rebels to a third straight win on the road at Gloucester City Queens on Sunday, coming from the bench to post a double-double in just 23 minutes. She finished with a team-high 19 points on 9-13 (69%) from the field, with 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals; including six offensive rebounds in a game where Rebels had a massive 25 boards at the offensive end for 23 second chance points. They won the first quarter 26-5 and never looked back, with Waithe scoring seven points with six rebounds after checking in at the five-minute mark.
Elle Hendershot – Durham Palatinates
Durham resumed their chase for the Play-off places with a road win at Cardiff Met Archers, with an Elle Hendershot double-double leading to her fourth showing in the weekly team, and second in the last four weeks, sending her into the top 10 overall. She posted 15 points on 7-9 (77%) shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds, along with six assists, and scored six points in little more than a minute in the first quarter, with three assists in that period, as Palatinates poured in 27 points in the opening ten minutes and never trailed thereafter.
Jessica Wayne – Durham Palatinates
Another player making her second All-Star 5 appearance, having previously appeared alongside her teammate above four weeks ago, is American guard Jessica Wayne, who led the scoring in that Durham win. She hit 20 points, including 3-4 (75%) from three-point range, with eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals in a do-it-all performance; with eight points as Palatinates made the decisive run in the second quarter, winning it 22-11 as she scored five in an 8-0 burst that established a double-figure lead.
Cassie Breen – London Lions
Featuring in the All-Star 5 for the first time in 11 weeks, and also a second time this season, is London’s sharpshooter Cassie Breen after they poured in 94 points at home to Newcastle Eagles, staying unbeaten at 14-0 in the WBBL Championship. Breen hit seven three-pointers at a rate of 50% on her way to 30 points – one-third of her team’s total – in just 21 minutes off the bench. Lions won the first period 23-7 as she hit a pair of triples within a couple of minutes of checking in, and one more just the other side of the first quarter break, before nailing three in just over a minute in the fourth quarter.
Off the bench: Kennedy Nicholas (Nottingham Wildcats), Oceana Hamilton (Leicester Riders), Dora Cipcic (Newcastle Eagles), Laken James (Caledonia Pride), Layne Murphy (Newcastle Eagles), Jo Leedham-Warner (London Lions), Taylor Edwards (Caledonia Pride).