All-Star 5 – Week 13 – Women’s British Basketball…

The WBBL returned for the New Year with the knockout WBBL Trophy first round, and the All-Star 5 is led by a duo from former champions Sheffield Hatters amidst numerous huge double-doubles after an exciting weekend of action with all games played centrally at the Essex Sports Arena.

Helen Naylor – Sheffield Hatters
Sheffield Hatters won the WBBL Trophy back-to-back in 2015 and 2016, and got their latest campaign off to a high-scoring start with a win over Ipswich as Helen Naylor was close to a triple-double in a little over 23 minutes. She scored 23 points on 11-14 (78%) interior shooting, with nine rebounds and eight assists, also nabbing four steals. After a competitive opening period, Hatters poured in 36 second stanza points as Naylor scored six and handed out three assists in just four minutes.

Karly Murphy – Sheffield Hatters
Hatters started this year as they ended the last, with this being a third straight win, and her performance against Ipswich has led to a sixth All-Star 5 showing for American forward Karly Murphy – she leads the overall appearances chart with double any other player. In this game, the league’s leading rebounder posted a massive double-double of 16 points and 20 rebounds, while also dishing out seven assists; including six points, six boards and two assists in a 22-12 start as they led from tip-to-buzzer.

Erin McGarrahan – Caledonia Gladiators
Scottish Forward Erin McGarrahan makes her first All-Star 5 appearance of the season as her double-double led Caledonia Gladiators past Thames Valley Cavaliers in the WBBL Trophy first round. Captain of her team, she led from the front with 24 points and 13 rebounds, also adding four assists, two steals and a block, and that included six points, three boards, two steals and an assist in a 19-9 first quarter that set the tone as Gladiators led throughout.

Shannon Hatch – Cardiff Met Archers
Cardiff Met Archers bounced back from a run of four straight defeats to end last year by overturning a big late deficit to overcome Durham Palatinates, resulting in a second All-Star 5 appearance for Shannon Hatch, but a first for eight weeks. She finished the game with a huge double-double of 17 points and 19 rebounds, along with three assists and two blocks, including seven points and 10 rebounds in a sensational 30-11 final 11 minutes that saw Archers come back from 14 points down, including a triple early in the 15-1 finish as she also made a series of big plays at both ends down the stretch.

Antoinette Lewis – Newcastle Eagles
American forward Antoinette Lewis makes her second showing in the weekly team after a big double-double that helped Newcastle Eagles beat Nottingham Wildcats in the first round. She finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds, adding five assists, three steals and two blocks, including four points and four boards in what proved to be a decisive 35-18 second quarter, adding five points in the fourth as Eagles held off a late fightback.

Off the bench: Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby (Durham Palatinates), Elle Hendershot (Durham Palatinates), Samantha Keltos (Manchester Met Mystics), Mari Stewart (Nottingham Wildcats), Lauren Saiki (Cardiff Met Archers), Oliana Squires (Leicester Riders), McKenzie Johnston (Leicester Riders).