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

The latest WBBL All-Star 5 – featuring some of this season’s most frequent nominees – includes a pair from Leicester Riders as they maintained their top four spot in the WBBL Championship, alongside three players who led their teams through the WBBL Trophy First Round after Saturday consisted exclusively of a number of exciting games in that competition.

Oceana Hamilton – Leicester Riders
With her fifth appearance in the weekly team, Hamilton is now joint-top of the charts with Cat Carr as Riders made it four straight home wins by producing a huge fourth quarter to overcome Cardiff Met Archers. The league’s second leading rebounder and leader in blocked shots produced a monstrous double-double of 22 points and 22 boards, with two blocks. She had a comfortable double-double by half time with 14 points and 12 rebounds as she kept Riders ticking over in what was a tight game throughout, and was difficult for the visitors to handle in the paint as she drew eight fouls and went 10-13 (76%) from the free-throw line, also grabbing an astonishing 10 offensive rebounds as Leicester had 18 second chance points.

Elle Hendershot – Durham Palatinates
It’s a second All-Star 5 appearance of the campaign for Elle Hendershot as she also posted a big double-double to help Durham progress in the WBBL Trophy with a road win against Newcastle Eagles in the North East derby. She scored 14 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, also adding six assists and six steals while playing all 40 minutes in a great all-round display. Palatinates trailed by double-figures in the first half, before Hendershot scored four points in a 16-2 run to end it, followed by the basket that put them ahead for good as part of a 12-0 surge in the third quarter. Her all-round contribution at both ends was decisive, as she added five points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals to keep them in front in the fourth period.

Dominique Allen – Manchester Met Mystics
Another exciting WBBL Trophy game saw Mystics knock out Sheffield Hatters at home by one point, with Great Britain international Dominique Allen leading the scoring as she makes her fourth All-Star 5 appearance, joint-second among all players in that regard. Allen shot 9-12 (75%) from the floor on her way to 20 points, with seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists, including nine points in the second quarter as Mystics initially established a nine-point lead before the half as she provided a consistent interior threat throughout with eight of her baskets made in the paint – Allen is eighth in the WBBL in field goal percentage.

Kennedy Nicholas – Nottingham Wildcats
Nottingham Wildcats also progressed in the WBBL Trophy after coming through a close game with Gloucester City Queens, leading to a third All-Star 5 showing for American centre Kennedy Nicholas as the league’s leading rebounder rarely fell one rebound short of a double-double. She finished with 17 points on a highly efficient 8-9 (88%) from the field, with nine rebounds and three blocked shots, including seven points in the final three minutes to keep Wildcats in front after Queens twice got it back to a one-shot game down the stretch.

Makana Stone – Leicester Riders
American forward Makana Stone makes her first All-Star 5 appearance after stepping up to Leicester’s WBBL side following an impressive campaign in WNBL D1 with Loughborough Riders, as she put up a season-best 20 points in the win over Cardiff Met Archers. She shot 8-11 (72%) on the inside, adding eight rebounds and four assists, including six points and two assists in the last four minutes as Riders completed a comeback when she scored four in a row to break a tie and spark a late 14-0 burst that won the game.

Off the bench: Shannon Hatch (Cardiff Met Archers), Lauren Saiki (Cardiff Met Archers), Georgia Gayle (Sheffield Hatters), Shaunay Edmonds (Nottingham Wildcats), Abby Lowe (Durham Palatinates), Claire Abbott (Gloucester City Queens), Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee (Sheffield Hatters).