The 2020 WNBL season was the 41st season of the competition since its establishment in 1981.[1] The Canberra Capitals were the two-time defending champions, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Melbourne. The Southside Flyers won the Grand Final, defeating the Townsville Fire, 99–82.[2] The Flyers took home the franchise's fourth WNBL title overall, this being their first since rebranding as Southside.
WNBL season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball League |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | 11 November 2020 – 20 December 2020 |
Number of teams | 8 |
TV partner(s) | ABC Fox Sports |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Southside Flyers |
Season MVP | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) |
Top scorer | Liz Cambage (STH) |
Finals | |
Champions | Southside Flyers |
Runners-up | Townsville Fire |
Finals MVP | Leilani Mitchell (STH) |
Chemist Warehouse was again the WNBL's naming rights partner for this season, after signing a three-year deal in July 2018.[3] Spalding again provided equipment including the official game ball, alongside iAthletic supplying team apparel for the fourth consecutive season.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a North Queensland hub was set to host the season.[4] The season was originally 2020–21 and would be traditionally played over several months across the summer, however this season's scheduling had been condensed. The six-week season saw Townsville, Cairns and Mackay host a 52-game regular season fixture, plus a four-game final series (2 x semi-finals, preliminary final and grand final). Each team contested 13 games starting on 11 November, with the grand final scheduled for 20 December.[5]
Player movement
editStandings
edit# | WNBL Championship ladder | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | GP | |||||
1 | Southside Flyers | 11 | 2 | 84.6 | 13 | ||||
2 | Townsville Fire | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 | ||||
3 | Canberra Capitals | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 | ||||
4 | Melbourne Boomers | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 | ||||
5 | Sydney Uni Flames | 5 | 8 | 38.5 | 13 | ||||
6 | Adelaide Lightning | 5 | 8 | 38.5 | 13 | ||||
7 | Perth Lynx | 4 | 9 | 30.8 | 13 | ||||
8 | Bendigo Spirit | 0 | 13 | 0.0 | 13 |
Finals
editSemifinals | Preliminary final | Grand final | |||||||||||
Southside Flyers | 106 | Southside Flyers | 99 | ||||||||||
Townsville Fire | 93 | Townsville Fire | 82 | ||||||||||
Townsville Fire | 65 | ||||||||||||
Melbourne Boomers | 62 | ||||||||||||
Canberra Capitals | 68 | ||||||||||||
Melbourne Boomers | 78 | ||||||||||||
Statistics
editIndividual statistic leaders
editCategory | Player | Statistic |
---|---|---|
Points per game | Liz Cambage (STH) | 23.6 PPG |
Rebounds per game | Anneli Maley (SYD) | 12.1 RPG |
Assists per game | Leilani Mitchell (STH) | 6.5 APG |
Steals per game | Alison Schwagmeyer (SYD) | 2.2 SPG |
Blocks per game | Liz Cambage (STH) | 1.9 BPG |
Individual game highs
editCategory | Player | Statistic |
---|---|---|
Points | Liz Cambage (STH) | 35 |
Rebounds | Anneli Maley (SYD) | 20 |
Assists | Tessa Lavey (BEN) | 11 |
Leilani Mitchell (STH) | ||
Steals | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) | 7 |
Blocks | Liz Cambage (STH) | 6 |
Awards
editPlayer of the Round
editRound # | Player | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Round 1 | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) | [6] |
Round 2 | Liz Cambage (STH) | [7] |
Round 3 | Shyla Heal (TSV) | [8] |
Round 4 | Darcee Garbin (PER) | [9] |
Round 5 | Lauren Mansfield (SYD) | [10] |
Team of the Round
editRound # | Team | Ref. | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round 1 | Maddison Rocci (CBR) | Tess Madgen (MEL) | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) | Cayla George (MEL) | Liz Cambage (STH) | [11] | ||||
Round 2 | Jade Melbourne (CBR) | Shyla Heal (TSV) | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) | Lauren Scherf (SYD) | Liz Cambage (STH) (2) | [12] | ||||
Round 3 | Shyla Heal (TSV) (2) | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) (2) | Anneli Maley (SYD) | Darcee Garbin (PER) | Liz Cambage (STH) (3) | [13] | ||||
Round 4 | Katie Ebzery (PER) | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) (2) | Darcee Garbin (PER) (2) | Ezi Magbegor (MEL) | Liz Cambage (STH) (4) | [14] | ||||
Round 5 | Lauren Mansfield (SYD) | Rebecca Cole (STH) | Anneli Maley (SYD) (2) | Cayla George (MEL) (2) | Zitina Aokuso (TSV) | [15] |
Postseason Awards
editTeam captains and coaches
editTeam | Captain | Coach |
---|---|---|
Adelaide Lightning | Stephanie Talbot | Chris Lucas |
Bendigo Spirit | Tessa Lavey | Tracy York |
Canberra Capitals | Kelsey Griffin / Marianna Tolo (co) | Paul Goriss |
Melbourne Boomers | Madeleine Garrick / Cayla George (co) | Guy Molloy |
Perth Lynx | Katie Ebzery | Ryan Petrik |
Southside Flyers | Jenna O'Hea | Cheryl Chambers |
Sydney Uni Flames | Lauren Mansfield / Alison Schwagmeyer (co) | Katrina Hibbert |
Townsville Fire[17] | Gaze, Murray, Nicholson, Payne (group) | Shannon Seebohm |
References
edit- ^ WNBL official website
- ^ "Flyers reach potential earn redemption for WNBL championship". wnbl.basketball.
- ^ "CHEMIST WAREHOUSE SUPPORTING WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AS NAMING RIGHTS PARTNER OF WNBL AND AUSTRALIAN OPALS". Women's National Basketball League. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ^ Elkerton, Matthew; Charles, Caitlan (22 September 2020). "Townsville launches bid to host bubble for upcoming WNBL season". TownsvilleBulletin.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
A council report has detailed a proposal to host, and be central to, the 2020/21 WNBL season within a coronavirus 'bubble'. It's understood the WNBL has plans to host the games wholly within North Queensland, taking advantage of state government grants funding.
- ^ "QUEENSLAND SET TO HOST 2020 CHEMIST WAREHOUSE WNBL SEASON". wnbl.basketball. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "2020 Chemist Warehouse WNBL Player of the Round". youtube.com.
- ^ "Player of the Round – Round 2". youtube.com.
- ^ "Player of the Round – Round 3". facebook.com/TheWNBL.
- ^ "WNBL - Darcee Garbin - "Player of the Round" for Round 4, 2020 Chemist Warehouse WNBL season". facebook.com/TheWNBL.
- ^ "WNBL – Player of the Round – Round 5". facebook.com/TheWNBL.
- ^ "Round 1 2020 Chemist Warehouse WNBL Team of the Round". youtube.com.
- ^ "Team of the Round – Round 2". youtube.com.
- ^ "Team of the Round – Round 3". facebook.com/TheWNBL.
- ^ "WNBL - Round 4 "Team of the Week" - 2020 Chemist Warehouse WNBL". facebook.com/TheWNBL.
- ^ "WNBL – Team of the Round – Round 5". facebook.com/TheWNBL.
- ^ "STEPH TALBOT NAMED 2020 CHEMIST WAREHOUSE WNBL MVP". wnbl.basketball.
- ^ "FIRE UNVEIL LEADERSHIP GROUP". wnbl.basketball. 11 October 2019.