ROUND 15 TEAM OF THE WEEK
With the final round of the regular season wrapped up, the Round 15 Team of the Week has been announced.
After being named the Player of the Week, Nia Coffey heads the team while Kelsey Griffin earns her eleventh nod of the season.
Maddie Garrick earns her first inclusion for the season after doing her part for Lifeline Round, while a career-high for Abbey Wehrung and one last dance from Belinda Snell earned them places in the team.
Nia Coffey (Adelaide Lightning)
Coffey makes the team for the fifth time this season after leading the Lightning to a 21-point comeback win over Perth to secure third spot on the ladder.
Playing an integral role in the win, Coffey swatted away Perth’s final two shots of the game, including a game-winning attempt from Alison Schwagmeyer, and went on to record 20 points, nine rebounds and a league season-high seven blocks.
Nia Coffey Round 15 stats: 20 points on 35% shooting, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, and seven blocks.
Maddie Garrick (Deakin Melbourne Boomers)
With every club donating $100 to Lifeline Round for every three-pointer made over the weekend, Boomers sharp-shooter Maddie Garrick stepped up to the plate.
Scoring a career-high 28 points, Garrick went 6-9 from beyond the arc, to attribute $1200 worth of donations to the cause once the WNBL matched Melbourne’s donation.
Garrick top-scored in the game as the Boomers completed a season sweep over the Rangers in the Michele Timms Cup while the shooting guard also earned her first Team of the Week nod for the season.
Maddie Garrick Round 15 stats: 28 points on 10-13 shooting, including 6-9 from three, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Kelsey Griffin (UC Capitals)
Griffin has continued her remarkable first season as the skipper of the Capitals, earning her eleventh Team of the Week award of the season.
Leading the Capitals to their ninth win in a row in a double-overtime thriller against Bendigo, Griffin was instrumental throughout the fourth quarter and extra periods, posting nine points, ten rebounds, two blocks, and one steal during that time.
She went on to finish with a 20-20 game, continually rising to the occasion when her team needed her, and the forward is in ominous form heading into the playoffs.
Kelsey Griffin Round 15 stats: 24 points on 10-21 shooting, 20 rebounds (seven offensive), three steals, and three blocks.
Belinda Snell (Brydens Sydney Uni Flames)
As Snell’s storied career came to a close on Saturday night, the legend has earned one last honour.
Making her second Team of the Week for the season, Snell paced the Flames with 21 points and made a major contribution to Lifeline Round by hitting 5-7 from beyond the arc in just the first eight minutes of the game.
UNREAL! Belinda Snell is 5-7 from beyond the arc for 15pts with 2mins still left in Q1!
She has helped @SydUniFlames to a 28-20 lead. Is she chasing her league-record of 54? #WNBL19
— WNBL (@WNBL) January 19, 2019
She went on to nail six three-pointers and while Sydney Uni fell by eight points to Townsville, Snell put up impressive numbers in her final game with a near triple-double.
Belinda Snell Round 15 stats: 21 points on 7-16 shooting, including 6-12 from three, seven rebounds, nine assists, and three steals.
Abbey Wehrung (Bendigo Bank Spirit)
With the Spirit missing Becca Tobin and Nadeen Payne, Wehrung stepped up for the Spirit as they nearly upset the UC Capitals.
Wehrung dropped 24 points in the first half alone as she paced the Spirit to a nine-point lead at the main break and she nearly proved the heroine at the end of regulation with her lay-up coming mere milliseconds after the buzzer sounded.
Despite the defeat, Wehrung still went on to score a career-high 30 points to finish another strong campaign.
Abbey Wehrung Round 15 stats: 30 points on 9-17 shooting, four rebounds, and four assists.
Honourable Mentions: Marianna Tolo (UC Capitals), Lindsay Allen (Melbourne), Bec Cole (Dandenong), Nat Hurst (Bendigo), Kayla Alexander (Adelaide)