ROUND 13 of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) has concluded, and it proved to be one of the most entertaining of the season. There were dominant wins from some of the competition’s best sides, and upset victories galore. Amongst the action were plenty of outstanding individual outings, as we take a look at some of the strongest performers at each position to create our Team of the Week for Round 13.

Point Guard – Jackie Young (Perth Lynx)

After a quiet-ish couple of weeks (by her lofty standards), Young produced one of her finest performances this season. Despite the narrow lost to the Flames, Young was one of the standouts of the game, pouring in 28 points and six rebounds. She was quite efficient from the field, sinking 12 of her 25 field goal attempts, and was one of the major reasons why her side was in the game until the final seconds.

Shooting Guard – Brittney Sykes (UC Capitals)

We are going small for our starting lineup here, but it was impossible to not recognise the efforts of Sykes in the win. The creative guard was at her best in the blowout win over the Flyers in Round 13, pouring in 24 points, five rebounds and eight assists in a magnificent all-around performance. She was clearly the best player on the court, and led her side to a great victory.

Small Forward – Anneli Maley (Bendigo Spirit)

In the tense win over the Flyers on Wednesday, Maley was simply unstoppable, stuffing the stat sheet with a huge individual performance. She recorded a massive double-double of 19 points and 19 rebounds, while also dishing out six assists as she truly did it all for her side. The most impressive feat of her game was the fact that nine of her 19 boards were on the offensive end, which had a massive impact on getting her team over the line.

Power Forward – Sara Blicavs (Southside Flyers)

Despite a disappointing performance from a team standpoint for the Flyers, Blicavs was still one to catch the eye in both of her side’s outings. In the close loss to the Spirit, she played a lone hand on the offensive end of the court with her 24-point effort making her the only player to score in double-digits. She backed this up a few days later with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to the Capitals.

Center – Keely Froling (Sydney Uni Flames)

In what was the most dominant individual performance of the round, Froling was a woman on a mission in her side’s upset win over the Lynx in Round 13. She was a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the court, having her way as the Perth defence struggled to find answers. In the end, she produced a stunning double-double of 30 points and 22 rebounds to lead her side to a tremendous result.

Bench

First up off the bench in our team is Alex Wilson of the Bendigo Spirit, who was at her dangerous best once again in Round 13. Despite an interrupted outing to close the round, she was excellent in the opener with 17 points against the Flyers.

Our second reserve guard this week is Stephanie Talbot of the Adelaide Lightning, who did it all in the win over the Flyers. Stuffing the stat sheet in a big way, she poured in 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists, doing what was required to give her side the triumph.

The first forward in our backup squad is Courtney Woods of the Townsville Fire, who performed well despite the tough loss to the Lightning. She was one of two players for the Fire to hit double-digits, top-scoring with 21 point and five rebounds.

Next up off the bench is UC Capitals forward Kelsey Griffin, who was unlucky to miss out on a starting spot with a terrific performance. In the dominant win over the Flyers, she poured in yet another double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five dimes in a classy display.

The final bench spot in our team goes to Alanna Smith of the Adelaide Lightning, who put up some big numbers in the win over the Fire. Controlling the skies, she finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds and was a reliable source of scoring for Adelaide.