Paul, a writer, commentator, podcaster and more, saw an enthralling weekend of WNBL1 action, as the top two slipped up and Reading Rockets collected their first win of the season.
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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
In a weekend of outstanding performance Wormald’s 26-20 double-double set the benchmark, as Ipswich took a win on the road in Worcester.
Wormald bagged her 26 points on 53% shooting, which included six threes, and a perfect 6-6 at the stripe. She completed the double-double with a dominant 14 defensive boards and six on the offensive end, a game-high in both. Wormald tacked on two steals and a block in a fantastic outing for Ipswich’s latest superstar.
Ball’s 17-16 double-double was a major factor in Bristol’s 76-65 victory over CoLA Southwark Pride on Saturday evening. She shot efficiently, making 55% of her shots and sank 3-6 from outside, whilst taking control of the defensive glass for her side, pulling down 15 of her 16 boards on that end of the floor.
Ball found teammates for six dimes, and took away two steals in an outstanding display, which will remind all of the WNBL exactly who Bristol are.
ARU’s Eheda Hassan announced herself in the WNBL D1 in a big way. The former University of Hertfordshire standout came off the bench on Saturday and scored with an efficiency rarely seen in the league. With 25 points, off 72% shooting, while hitting 5-6 from three and 4-5 at the stripe, Hassan showed off her outside range and her ability to drive inside.
Hassan did more than just score, with two boards, an assist and three steals, it was a statement performance in an important victory.
Leet once again showed herself to be a leading player for Loughborough as they overcame the Manchester Mystics at home, with Leet finishing with a 12-8-5 statline. Leet’s scoring came on 50% shooting, which included 1-1 from outside, with the rest of her points coming around the basket and a perfect 5-5 from the stripe.
Leet led her side in rebounding, all eight coming on the defensive end, and in assists which led directly to 10 points by her teammates in another performance that demonstrated how efficiently she plays the game.
Reading Rockets claimed their first win of the year on Saturday and Alicia Guerra Rainford’s 26 points on 47% shooting was a major factor in that victory. She did her best scoring work from outside, hitting 5-8 from beyond the arc, and also went 5-8 at the stripe.
Guerra Rainford led the game in rebounding as well as shooting, with 10 of her 12 boards coming on the defensive end. With three assists and two steals Guerra Rainford did a little bit of everything to help her side get the win.
Brent missed out on the chance to extend their lead at the top of the WNBL D1 standings as Cobham Cobras upset the early league leaders at home. Katie Richards was a major force in the contest with nine points, a team highs in rebounds, with 12, assists, with seven and steals with five.
Cobham were led in scoring by Nerea Iniguez and Sophie Khlaf who had 12 and 10 points respectively, with Khlaf finishing just one board shy of a double-double. Aoife Ryan’s fine block in the final moments of the contest settled the tie as she denied a driving Lindsey Cleary, who had a customary excellent performance with 21-12.
Bristol Flyers picked up their fourth straight win after an excellent offensive outing at home to one of the WNBL D1’s early standouts CoLA Southwark Pride. Marlee Ball’s 17-16-6 performance was the standout for Bristol, but four of her teammates also hit double-digits scoring, in a highly efficient team display. Kim Kheing (16), Leila Jepson (14), Hannah Wallace (12) and Veronica Iweanya (10) all hit double-digits with three Flyers also topping 60% shooting.
Bristol’s win largely came down to execution, downing six more triples than their guests and being more efficient when scoring inside. Ayla Habbal had a brilliant outing for CoLA in the loss, scoring 34 points on 60% shooting.
Katie Richards (COB) 9/12/7/21EFF
Rehana Khalil (MAN) 13/8/4/20EFF
Nina Wallace (WOR) 20/6/5/26EFF
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Main image credit - Richard Leach
