The league’s top defensive stoppers have been nominated by WBBL Head Coaches to the Molten WBBL Defensive Team of the Year, including three London Lions as they won a first WBBL Championship title and finished the year as the league’s best overall defence.
Jo Leedham-Warner – London Lions
Decorated Great Britain international Jo Leedham-Warner has made an illustrious career across Europe partly on the basis of her versatility and defensive prowess, and she has been dominant in that regard in her first season in the WBBL for a Lions team that conceded an average of just 54 points per game. She led the league in steals with 3.4 per contest – a mark that she has regularly been close to for the Great Britain team – as the Lions overall did likewise with a massive 14 steals per game, more than two clear of any other team, converting those into a league-high 25 points from turnovers, five clear of any other team. She had a season-high of seven steals against Nottingham Wildcats in March, and wasn’t far off a rare triple-double that day with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Shanice Beckford-Norton – London Lions
London’s 24-year-old captain, in her second season with the team, made her senior debut for the Great Britain national side this year after setting the tone for the league champions at the defensive end, renowned in particular for her aggressive brand of on-ball defence having established a reputation for her stopping abilities at the highest levels of college basketball across the Atlantic at LSU. Showing continued development, she upped her averages in most categories despite playing fewer minutes in a very deep team, including two steals and four defensive rebounds per game from the guard position, playing smart defence to average just one foul per contest. She had three games with five steals or more, including six in a rout of Gloucester City Queens where Lions scored an astonishing 46 points from turnovers.
Oceana Hamilton – Leicester Riders
Oceana Hamilton joined Leicester in the summer and the 6’4″ British-Canadian centre proved to be a dominant paint presence for one of just four defences that held opponents under an average of 70 points per game. Riders allowed their opposition to shoot just 39% on the interior, third best in the league, as Hamilton ended the season as the WBBL’s top rim protector with an average of two blocked shots per game. She had a season-high five blocks in a win over Caledonia Pride in January, with 17 points and 11 rebounds in that game, and was also one of just four players to average a double-double on the season, second overall in rebounding with 12 per contest.
Azania Stewart – London Lions
Another centre who was the linchpin of a formidable defence was Great Britain international Azania Stewart, as the treble-winning Lions allowed their opponents to score on the inside at a rate of just 37%, second best in the WBBL, in large part due to Stewart’s ability to command the paint and alter shots. She was sixth in the league in blocked shots with more than one per game, and two per game in London’s successful WBBL Cup run as she blocked three shots against title contenders Sevenoaks Suns and then had 20 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals on her way to winning MVP of the Cup Final against Newcastle Eagles.
Taylor Edwards – Caledonia Pride
Caledonia Pride surged up the WBBL Championship table in the second half of the season to finish in their highest ever position of sixth and qualify for the Play-offs for just the second time, with American guard Taylor Edwards proving to be a particularly dogged defender for a Pride team that ended the campaign as the league’s best perimeter defence. She finished second overall in steals with over three per game and averaged six defensive rebounds per contest, just outside the top ten and among the best guards at just 5’8″, demonstrating her aggressive style by drawing the most fouls of any player in the WBBL. In a victory over Newcastle Eagles at Vertu Motors Arena in March, in front of a record crowd for a women’s league game, she had a sensational triple-double of 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals in what was an iconic performance.