Paul, a writer, commentator, podcaster and more, had four games to look over in WNBL1 this past weekend, with the National Cup also taking its share of the spotlight.
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Darren will pick a Player of the Week and four other selections to round out his Team of the Week, paying attention to the following criteria:
The FocusHoops Team of the Week 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cleary led Brent past Anglia Ruskin University on the road thanks to her 24-point performance, shooting a solid 57.9% from the floor.
She shot well from inside the arc and hit 2/3 from outside, pulling down seven rebounds.
The American had a huge impact on defence - in addition to her four defensive boards, Cleary finished with a game-high seven steals as Brent picked up an important victory against a tough opponent.
Welham led Ipswich and the WNBL in scoring this weekend with 30 points on 46% shooting as her side took a big win against one-loss Manchester Mystics.
Welham complemented her excellent interior scoring with three triples and 3/5 from the stripe. She also pulled down five rebounds and dished four dimes in a win that sends Ipswich to the top of the standings, with Manchester heading the other way as a result.
Wormald put in a shift on the glass as she finished with a 16-12 double-double on 42% shooting as Ipswich topped Manchester.
She enjoyed a team-high in rebounding and second highest in scoring, tied Welham with three outside makes and tied the Grays, Vicky and Hannah, with four steals in another strong outing that helped Ipswich move to the top of the standings.
Ball led the scoring for Bristol as they picked up their second win of the year and handed Loughborough their first loss in the process.
She led all scorers with 18 points on 40% shooting, including four made triples. Ball scored eight of her points in the final period, including two crucial makes from outside.
The talented guard also pulled down eight boards, all on defensive end and found team-mates on two assists, in a strong showing for the Flyers on the road.
It may have been a loss for Freeman's ARU this weekend, but the former Essex standout led the way in scoring for her side as they fell to defeat against a strong Brent outfit on Saturday.
Freeman led Ruskin in scoring with 20 points on 45.5% shooting, whilst drawing 11 founds in the contest. She also pulled down nine rebounds, found team-mates with three assists and took away two steals.
It might not have been the result Freeman or ARU were looking for, but her performance was still worthy of a spot in the five for this week.
Ipswich sit atop the WNBL D1 standings with a 4-1 record having taken down Manchester Mystics at home 80-51 in a clash between two of the top sides after the first few weeks of action.
Harriet Welham led the way for Ipswich with 30 points, with Maddy Wormald and Louisa Gibbins both bagging double-doubles, with 16-12 and 10-11 performances respectively.
A key differentiator between the sides was the outside shooting, as Ipswich hit 11/32 whilst Manchester could only sink three of their 20 efforts from beyond the arc.
Irene Oboavwoduo led Manchester with a 16-15 double-double as she continues her excellent run in D1 for Manchester.
The final undefeated side in the WNBL has fallen as Bristol Flyers took down Loughborough Riders on the road in a tense contest.
Bristol were led in scoring by Marlee Ball, who bagged 18 points in the contest, the only Flyer to achieve double digits on the score board.
Former Argentine international Mara Marchizotti led the Flyers on the glass with nine boards as Ball pulled down eight. Bristol’s pace of play and some clutch triples from Ball down the stretch were a big difference in getting them over the line in this one.
Loughborough was led in scoring by Jasmine Graham who had 10 points and eight rebounds on 50% shooting.
Judit Fritz (BRE) 18P/3R/2A/16EFF
Louisa Gibbins (IPS) 10P/11R/4A/2S/3B/18EFF
Kamilah Yakubu (BA) 17P/2R/87.5 FG%/15EFF
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Main image credit - Flo Alalade
Team of the Week photo credits - Essex Rebels (Freeman), Richard Leach (Welham, Wormald), Cobham Cobras (Khalaf) , CoLA Southwark Pride (Jones-Aryeh)
