Team South claim victory in inaugural WBBL All-Star Game

Image credit: British Basketball League

Team South claimed victory in the inaugural WBBL All-Star Game as they defeated Team North 99-81 at the Copper Box Arena in London, on Sunday.

Temi Fagbenle led the way in the win as MVP with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting with London Lions teammate Savannah Wilkinson adding 19 points and Kat Tudor putting up 17 points.

Box score.

South captain Temi Fagbenle came out firing with the first five points of the game before Sam Ashby hit two triples to bookend a 14-2 spell to make it an early double-digit lead.

Laken James got the North into double figures with their first three of the game, and they would later add an 11-4 burst to close the gap, despite trailing 29-25 after 10 minutes.

Kat Tudor netted successive threes at the start of the second to keep the South ahead with a six-point cushion at the midway point. However, Janika Griffith-Wallace capped a 9-0 run with a go-ahead triple for the North’s first lead – and they would take a narrow 45-42 advantage into the half.

Fagbenle began to take over for the South in the third with 11 of their 14 points to restore their earlier lead. Georgia Gayle ensured the North kept it close with back-to-back threes in preparation for the later 3-Point Shootout.

The North moved back in front at 67-65 with 2:52 left in the third, but threes from Caterrion Thompson and Megan Gustafson sparked an 11-0 close to the quarter with the South back in control.

It quickly became a double-digit game at the start of the fourth with the South pulling clear for the win.

Notes

– This was the inaugural WBBL All-Star Game
– North starters: Anderson, Gayle, Eichmeyer, Ottewill-Soulsby, Brown
– South starters: Beckford-Norton, Ashby, Day, Fagbenle, Gustafson
– Starters were voted by the fans, reserves selected by the head coaches (at least one representative per club)
– Head coaches: Vanessa Ellis (North), Stella Kaltsidou (South)

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix