With the WBBL Championship race heating up in February, the monthly awards have gone to two representatives of the current top three teams in Mark Clark and Jasmine Joyner.

Clark wins the Molten WBBL Coach of the Month for the first time, as his BA London Lions remain unbeaten in the WBBL Championship at 5-0, with another three straight wins in February all by double-figure margins, meaning that they end the month in second place in the league.

In two of those recent wins, Clark rallied his troops for big fourth quarter displays to get them over the line in previously tight exchanges. Most importantly, they ended the month with a 79-61 defeat of third-placed Nottingham Wildcats after coming from behind in the first half and winning the fourth quarter 22-9 in an impressive display, scoring 30 points from turnovers including 11 in the fourth as they upped the intensity. That’s a characteristic of his team, as they force the most turnovers in the WBBL.

Lions’ other big late rally came on the road at Newcastle Eagles as, trailing with seven minutes to play, they rattled off 13 straight points to turn the game around and then, after a Clark timeout, allowed their hosts just one score in the last four minutes.

After failing to win a single game last season, his recruitment in an overhaul has proven to be excellent, particularly with his new additions in the backcourt pairing of American Cassie Breen and GB international guard Kennedy Leonard. Breen leads the league in scoring and is second in three-point percentage, at a startling 55%; while Leonard leads the league in assists, is second in steals, and top ten in scoring.

In addition, GB under-20 Shanice Beckford-Norton averages 15 points, six rebounds and six assists; with American Stephanie Umeh typically scoring in double-figures off the bench.

Overall, Clark’s team lead the league in scoring with 84 points per game, are first in free-throw percentage (79.8%), and second in field goal percentage (44%), fast break points (12.4) and offensive rebounds (15.2).

Jasmine Joyner, meanwhile, wins the Molten WBBL Player of the Month award for February, picking up her second of the season after also being recognised in November.

Joyner leads all players in weekly All-Star Five appearances, with six in total and two more in February, after averaging 23 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three assists over four games in the month, while shooting a league-leading 67% from the field.

Her Nottingham Wildcats team went 3-1 for the month, starting with three blowout victories over Manchester Met Mystics, Caledonia Pride and Durham Palatinates. Joyner had one of the individual performances of the season so far in the first of those games, with a huge double-double of 30 points and 16 rebounds against the in-form Mystics.

She followed that the very next night with 25 points, on 11-14 (78%) shooting, to go with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals at home against the Pride. In a 25 point and 13 rebound double-double against Durham, she had 10 of her points in a fourth quarter that Wildcats won 25-8.

Overall, in her third WBBL campaign, Joyner is fourth in the league in scoring, rebounding and fouls drawn, and fifth in field goal percentage at 57%; while at the defensive end she is fifth in blocks and seventh in steals.