2020 WNBL season
| 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) |
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.
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[edit]
Standings[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[edit]
| Semifinals | 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[edit]
Individual statistic leaders[edit]
| Category | 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[edit]
| Category | 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[edit]
Player of the Round[edit]
| Round # | 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[edit]
| Round # | 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[edit]
Team captains and coaches[edit]
| Team | 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.