THE seventh round of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) has wrapped, and despite a couple of games suffering COVID-related postponements, there were still four cracking games taking place across the courts. Among these matches were some terrific individual performances that caught the eye of fans and peers around the country.

In this series, we take a look at some of the strongest performing players throughout this round at each position to create the League’s Team of the Week.

Point Guard – Tiffany Mitchell (Melbourne Boomers)

The first guard on this list might not be traditionally a point guard overseas, but Mitchell has been terrific in controlling the offence during her time with the Boomers. She has shown the ability to not only create shots for her teammates, but also find ways to score herself. Against the Southside Flyers, she stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists, doing it all as she led her side to a close victory over the reigning premiers. Her court vision was in full display as she was able to draw in the defence and dish the ball to an open teammate. Against the Perth Lynx, Mitchell finished with 22 points and was able to deliver some much-needed offence when the game was in the balance.

Shooting Guard – Marina Mabrey (Perth Lynx)

Mabrey has been one of the biggest stories of the last few weeks, setting the scoreboard on fire in her opening match in round 5. She was able to continue this trend into this round, where the Lynx played three matches as they catch up to their peers. Against the Flyers, she poured in 23 points as the defence struggled to contain her on nearly every possession. She backed this up with 27 points against the Capitals in yet another fine offensive performance. By this stage, she was established as a serious threat on the offensive end on a nightly basis. She was slightly restricted against the Boomers for just 10 points, but still enjoyed a terrific round.

Small Forward – Sara Blicavs (Southside Flyers)

Despite playing just one match this round, Blicavs was still able to provide a strong level of impact during her time on the court. Against the Lynx, Blicavs played a lone hand on the offensive end at times, recording 22 of her team’s 79 points in an exhilarating performance. She showed the capability to score both inside and and behind the three-point line. Remarkably, she reached this total without drawing a foul to send her to the free throw line, demonstrating how crafty she can be at finding the bottom of the net.

Power Forward – Abby Bishop (Southside Flyers)

The second consecutive Flyer on this list, Bishop performed quite well despite sustaining two close losses in the seventh round of action. She was dominant on the glass in both outings and displayed the dynamic skillset she possesses. Against the Lynx, she struggled shooting the ball but was able to impact the contest in other ways, pulling down 17 rebounds and five assists in a solid outing. She backed this up against the Boomers with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as she continues to make an impact in plenty of ways.

Center – Lauren Scherf (Perth Lynx)

Coming in at the final starting spot is Scherf, who is enjoying a terrific first season with the Lynx to date. She fought tooth and nail in all three of Perth’s games this weekend, and was a big reason why they were able to walk away from the weekend with a 2-1 record. She kicked off the round with her finest performance, recording 23 points and 10 rebounds in a towering performance. She followed this up with yet another double-double against the Capitals with 11 points and 12 rebounds in just 26 minutes of action. She finished off the round with 18 points and five rebounds and was clearly one of the most consistent performers over this time.

Bench

The bench point guard spot goes to Brittney Sykes of the UC Capitals, who was terrific in her side’s loss on the weekend. Against the Lynx, she was clearly the best player for her side, filling the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists as she tried to get her side rolling on the offensive end of the court. She also worked extremely hard on defence, racking up a game-high five steals in an impressive showing.

Next up on the bench list is Perth Lynx shooting guard Sami Whitcomb, who was able to hit the scoreboard in multiple games this weekend. Apart from a quiet performance against the Capitals where she was well-contained by the defence, Whitcomb was a serious threat on the offensive end of the court. To open the weekend, she recorded 17 points and seven rebounds against the Flyers, before wrapping up proceedings against the Boomers with another 10 points and nine rebounds.

In the first bench forward spot is another Perth Lynx player in Darcee Garbin, who was quite consistent throughout the round. She was able to overcome some inconsistent shooting in the first match, and hit double-digits in all three of her outings. She recorded totals of 10, 15 and 18 points over this time, and was a crucial cog in Perth’s offensive system throughout their wins and losses.

The next two players have been known to play the same position, but their team has made this work so we can too. First up is Eziyoda Magbegor of the Melbourne Boomers, who was terrific in both of her team’s wins. Against the Flyers, she produced 16 points (knocking down eight of her nine shot attempts) and eight rebounds, before backing this up with 14 points and eight rebounds in the win over the Lynx.

The final bench spot goes to another Boomer in Cayla George, who was just as important in Melbourne’s two wins over the weekend. George and Magbegor have proven to be a formidable duo and it showed on the weekend. Her first outing saw a 13-point, 11-rebound performance against Southside, before topping this with 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Lynx in the final match of the round.