Southern Design Sydney Uni Flames forward Amy Denson has been named Player of the Week for Round Two of the 2011/12 WNBL season after two solid performances over the weekend helped continue her side’s undefeated start to the year.
Denson narrowly edged out team-mate Belinda Snell and Bendigo’s Gabrielle Richards for this week’s award.
Denson shone brightest for the Flames in their Round Two match-up with the Adelaide Lightning, in what was billed as the match-up of the round, leading her side with 25 points at better than 55 per cent from the field in their 70-65 victory on the road on Friday.
Denson was simply brilliant in her head-to-head battle with one of the true powerhouses in the league Suzy Batkovic, scoring at all will with an array of jump shots and drives.
In the Flames second road game of the weekend, Denson backed up with a 15 point, eight rebound performance against the West Coast Waves on Sunday, helping her side to a 3-0 start to the season with a commanding 71-55 victory.
A WNBL All-star Five member from 2010/11, Denson is currently second in the league in scoring, averaging 21 points per game, while also averaging better than eight made field goals a game across the first two rounds.
Flames teammate Belinda Snell provided another terrific all-round contribution to her side over Round Two, finding a way to impact different areas of the game when her shots weren’t falling. Against the Lightning she had a near triple-double of 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while in her side’s meeting with the Waves she recorded 12 points, 11 assists, four blocks and three steals.
The Bendigo Spirit were another side that had strong individual performances from multiple players, with centre Gabe Richards (25 points on 69 per cent shooting), Tess Madgen (25 points) and Kristi Harrower (19 points) all contributing to their victory over the Bulleen Boomers.
Other Player of the Week contenders included Shanavia Dowdell (Townsville Fire), Jessica Foley (Townsville Fire), Kristen Veal (Logan Thunder), Rachael Flanagan (Townsville Fire), Cayla Francis (Logan Thunder).
2011/12 WNBL Player of the Week Winners
Round 1 – Samantha Richards (Bulleen Boomers)
Round 2 – Amy Denson (Sydney Uni Flames)
