The statistical player awards will be presented at the Grand Final on March 6 at The Cage, Melbourne.
The presentation of the league’s Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards will be held at the 2010 NBL/WNBL Awards Dinner when the superstars of the National Basketball League and WNBL will gather in Melbourne on Friday 19 March.
To qualify for a major WNBL statistical award, athletes must have played at least half of their club’s 22 regular season games.
LEADING REBOUNDER and BEST FIELD GOAL SHOOTING PERCENTAGE: Elizabeth Cambage (Global Metals Bulleen Boomers)
Cambage wins the Best Field Goal Shooting Percentage Award for the second consecutive season. The 203cm centre converted 169 of 286 attempts from the field at 59.1 percent, rating 3.2 percent higher than the next player. In her first season out of the Australian Institute of Sport, the 18-year-old added another award, Leading Rebounder. Cambage was the most consistent rebounder in both the offensive and defensive categories to claim the overall award with 9.6 rebounds per game. Cambage tallied 10 or more rebounds in 12 of her 22 games this season. Her biggest rebounding haul in a single game was in Round 10 when she grabbed 17 boards against the Perth Lynx.
LEADING SCORER: Suzy Batkovic-Brown (ACUVUE Sydney Uni Flames)
In her return to the league this season Batkovic-Brown was one of the most dominant players on court. She averaged 24.6 points per game across 20 games in the season. Batkovic-Brown scored 20 or more points in 17 of her 20 games, and 30 or more points in five outings. She posted her season high 35 points in Round 10 and earned Player of the Week honours for the effort.
MOST BLOCKED SHOTS: Marianna Tolo (Canberra TransACT Capitals)
Named Canberra Capitals’ MVP last week, Tolo averaged 3.0 blocks per game, 1.3 blocks more than the next best player. Tolo set a new WNBL record for Most Blocked Shots in a Single Game when she swatted away 13 shot attempts against the Townsville Fire in Round 6.
GOLDEN HANDS AWARD: Sharin Milner (Global Metals Bulleen Boomers)
Point guard Sharin Milner wins the Golden Hands Award for the fourth time, an honour determined by calculating the average rating of assists plus steals, minus turnovers per game. Milner averaged 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 turnovers per game this season.
BEST 3-POINT SHOOTING PERCENTAGE: Sarah Graham (BDS Logan Thunder)
2008/09 WNBL Rookie of the Year Graham ended her season early to undergo hip surgery but she had done enough to secure the Best 3-Point Shooting Percentage award. Graham converted 29 of 71 attempts from beyond the arc at 40.8 percent to claim the award. In her best 3-point shooting game this season, against Sydney Uni in Round 14, Graham stroked 4-of-5 from 3-point range at 80 per cent.
BEST FREE THROW SHOOTING PERCENTAGE: Rohanee Cox (Townsville Fire)
The Townsville Captain shot an outstanding 87 percent from the charity stripe, nailing 60 of 69 attempts, 2.7 percent clear of the next best player. Cox’s best games at the free throw line were in Rounds 14 and 15 when, across three games, the Jayco Opals guard nailed 28 of 30 attempts.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Sudero
