Abby Bishop of the Adelaide Lightning has been named WNBL Player of the Week for Round 15 of the 2011/12 WNBL season.
The Lightning star led her side to two key road victories on the weekend, solidifying Adelaide’s top place on the WNBL ladder during their Queensland conquest over the Logan Thunder and Townsville Fire.
This week Bishop narrowly edged out Bendigo’s Tess Madgen for the award, becoming the second Lightning player to win the award this season, behind Suzy Batkovic, who has taken out the honour three times in season 2011/12.
Playing without their team’s leading playmaker Batkovic, the Lightning looked to Bishop to fill the void left by one of the league’s most dominant players, and the 190cm forward did not disappoint.
Bishop recorded a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds in her side’s 63-52 victory over the Logan Thunder, connecting on 56 per cent of her field goal attempts, along with adding two steals, two assists and a blocked shot to the stats sheet.
In her second game of the round Bishop connected on an identical 10 of 18 field goal attempts, to once again contribute 21 points in Adelaide’s thrilling 64-61 victory over the Townsville Fire, to go along with nine rebounds and a blocked shot.
The two Round 15 wins took the Lightning’s record to 16-3 for the season, seeing them move four wins clear of the second-placed Bulleen Boomers.
Bishop has had a great first season with the Lightning, and is currently leading the league in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 3.6, as well as being ranked eighth in the league in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, and sixth in the league in rebounding, averaging 8.6 total rebounds per game.
Bendigo’s Tess Madgen was instrumental in helping her side to a crucial Round 15 road victory, 74-56, against the Bulleen Boomers. The young guard top-scored in the contest with 19 points, connecting on eight of her 13 field goal attempts, as well as adding eight rebounds, three steals and three assists for the Spirit.
Other Player of the Week contenders included Belinda Snell (Sydney Uni Flames), Kathleen MacLeod (Dandenong Rangers), Ellyce Ironmonger (Sydney Uni Flames) and Jenna O’Hea (Dandenong Rangers).
2011/12 WNBL Player of the Week Winners
Round 1 – Samantha Richards (Bulleen Boomers)
Round 2 – Amy Denson (Sydney Uni Flames)
Round 3 – Belinda Snell (Sydney Uni Flames)
Round 4 – Amy Denson (Sydney Uni Flames)
Round 5 – Kathleen MacLeod (Dandenong Rangers)
Round 6 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide Lightning)
Round 7 – Liz Cambage (Bulleen Boomers)
Round 8 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide Lightning) and Kathleen MacLeod (Dandenong Rangers)
Round 9 – Belinda Snell (Sydney Uni Flames)
Round 10 – Rachel Jarry (Bulleen Boomers)
Round 11 – Shanavia Dowdell (Townsville Fire)
Round 12 – Suzy Batkovic (Adelaide Lightning)
Round 13 – Deanna Smith (Bendigo Spirit)
Round 14 – Shanavia Dowdell (Townsville Fire)
Round 15 – Abby Bishop (Adelaide Lightning)
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