The latest WBBL All-Star 5 includes the MVP from Sunday’s WBBL Trophy Final live on Sky Sports, alongside a pair of Sheffield Hatters as they maintained pressure at the top of the WBBL Championship table, and a pair of Durham Palatinates as they continued to chase down the Play-off spots.
Katie Bennett – Durham Palatinates
Durham kept their Play-off hopes alive with an upset home win over fourth-placed Leicester Riders on Saturday, as Katie Bennett posted a big double-double to make her first All-Star 5 appearance of the season. She finished with 18 points and 12 assists, including knocking down 3-4 (75%) from the three-point line; and, crucially, she snatched six steals in a game where Palatinates scored 30 points from turnovers, nine of those coming directly from her defensive plays.
Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee – Sheffield Hatters
Great Britain international guard Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee gains weekly honours for the second time in three weeks after Sheffield Hatters won twice over the weekend to maintain the pressure at the top of the WBBL Championship table. Against Gloucester City Queens on Sunday, she had 18 points on 8-11 (72%) shooting, while handing out seven assists, along with six rebounds and three steals, pulling the strings consistently throughout the game as Hatters established a big early lead and never looked back.
Helen Naylor – Sheffield Hatters
Captain Helen Naylor was also dominant in that Sheffield win, scoring more than 20 points for the 50th time in her WBBL career and making a sixth All-Star 5 appearance of the season, joint-third on the chart in that regard. The league’s ninth leading scorer poured in 25 points in 26 minutes, shooting 10-16 (62%) from the field, with seven rebounds and three assists, scoring five points in five minutes in their great start and then adding nine in the second quarter as Hatters were out of sight by half time.
Elle Hendershot – Durham Palatinates
There was another big performance in Durham’s surprise win over Leicester, leading to a fifth All-Star 5 showing for Elle Hendershot, which is tied fifth among all players as she appears for the second week in a row and the third team in the last five weeks. Ranked third in the league in rebounds and blocked shots, she made contributions all over the floor and posted 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks, scoring seven points in an 18-3 surge that won the game in the final five minutes.
Holly Winterburn – London Lions
London Lions successfully defended their WBBL Trophy crown at the Emirates Arena live on Sky Sports on Sunday, beating fellow unbeaten title rivals Sevenoaks Suns as Holly Winterburn was awarded the MVP and makes her third All-Star 5 appearance, but first for 16 weeks. She finished with 16 points on 4-6 (66%) three-point shooting, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, including setting the tone with eight of the points – and a pair of triples – in an 11-0 burst that finished the first quarter and took Lions from an early deficit into a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. With Suns back within one in the second stanza, she hit another momentum-changing three that put daylight between them and sparked a 13-4 finish to the half.
Off the bench: Laken James (Caledonia Pride), Lauren Saiki (Cardiff Met Archers), Sian Phillips (Caledonia Pride), Jo Leedham-Warner (London Lions), Shannon Hatch (Cardiff Met Archers), Alison Lewis (Leicester Riders), Oceana Hamilton (Leicester Riders).