AFTER a slightly different looking schedule, the Round 10 of Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) has wrapped up proceedings. The round took place over two weekends, as the league looks to conclude the 2021/22 season with minimal interruptions. Round 10 saw some powerful performances at both team and individual levels, with players looking to leave it all on the court due to finals approaching at a rapid pace. There were big double-doubles and massive points totals across the courts in what was an entertaining couple of weeks of backetball action.

Point Guard – Jackie Young (Perth Lynx)

Young has continued her stellar debut season in the WNBL, leading her side to a tense win over the Boomers last weekend. The import guard has truly stepped up over recent weeks in the absence of some key personnel, lifting her side on the offensive end and proving to be extremely vital to the team’s success. She finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a mammoth performance.

Shooting Guard – Lauren Nicholson (Townsville Fire)

Nicholson produced one of her best performances of the season against the Flames in Round 10. She was far and away the best player on the court in her side’s win, producing a big scoring boost and giving the Sydney Uni defenders a headache whenever she was moving downhill. She poured in 23 points and six rebounds in just 29 minutes of action, as Townsville cruised home to a dominant victory.

Small Forward – Anneli Maley (Bendigo Spirit)

Maley delivered arguably the best performance of Round 11 in the Spirit’s win against the Lightning to kick off the scheduled action. Adelaide’s defence had no answer for Maley’s ferocious play on the offensive end, while she remained very active up the other end. She finished with a massive double-double of 26 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and five steals, stuffing the stat sheet to deliver one of the most dominant outings of the 2021/22 season.

Power Forward – Keely Froling (Sydney Uni Flames)

Despite a pair of tough losses at the hands of the Fire, Froling battled bravely for the Flames in both outings. She was solid enough in the first match with 13 points and eight boards, before exploding in the following match for a whopping 31 points and nine rebounds. She scored nearly half of her side’s points in the loss, and could have been match-winning had the forward received more help from her teammates.

Center – Monique Billings (Townsville Fire)

Stretching the rules position-wise a bit here, but Nicholson’s teammate was excellent in Townsville’s first outing of the round, with Billings proving an unstoppable force in their win over the Flames last weekend. The forward was seemingly everywhere in the blowout victory, constantly proving too much for the opposition defenders. She delivered 25 points and eight rebounds on some extremely efficient shooting, as 10 of her 12 shots from the field found the bottom of the net.

Bench

The first bench spot goes to UC Capitals point guard Kelly Wilson, who did it all in the blowout win over the Flyers last weekend. While she wasn’t the highest scorer for the match, she still stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

The next bench guard we have is Madeleine Garrick of the Bendigo Spirit, who provided a scoring spark in her team’s triumph. She overcame some inaccurate shooting to finish with 16 points and seven rebounds as she made the side’s offence even more dynamic.

We are going big off the bench, with our first reserve forward being Alex Bunton of the UC Capitals. In the win over the Flyers, she poured in a game-high 21 points while pulling down a whopping 13 boards in a truly impactful performance.

The next forward off the bench in our Team of the Week is Emilee Whittle-Harmon of the Southside Flyers, who was excellent despite the final result. In the loss, she was still able to pour in 21 points and seven boards and was essentially a one-woman show for much of the contest.

The final player in our team this week is usual suspect Lauren Scherf of the Perth Lynx, who was once again a towering presence in her side’s win. The consistent performer once again had a big say on the final result of the match with 19 points and 18 boards.